Outlawed
by blackrockchocolate
Summary: Naruto's little game was getting old, and being a ninja was the worst capital offense. But what he discovers about everyone he knows, especially the mysterious Sasuke, could change everything. SxN. AU; Ninjas are illegal; Present day city-setting.
1. Invincible, Reckless Control

**Hey there, first-time reader! Just in case you, uhh, FORGOT, this fanfiction is an AU, and it takes place in a city in our time. Ninjas are illegal and the most frowned upon thing in society. OOH HARSH.  
WARNING: This fanfiction WILL have scenes that will, uhh, make you either need a tissue (or a bucket) or bash your head against a wall (or a nuclear power plant). In other words, lemons, limes, all of that good stuff.  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these amazing characters or the original concept. The only thing I claim to own is the alternate world I drop-kicked them into. But, unfortunately, not Sasuke's amazing duck ass... NOT YET ANYWAY **

* * *

"Our greatest **GLORY** consists not in never failing, but in **RISING** every time we fall."

**Van Gogh** – Famous Artist

* * *

THE FLASHING CYAN AND RED LIGHTS sped by quickly as the Doppler effect kicked in on the sirens. I listened to the ear-piercing sounds drive away in the wrong direction and worked to steady my breathing, heartbeat loud in my ears.

Henh. I made it again. This game was getting a little old, I had to admit to myself, but I had to do something to ease the everlasting boredom that was creeping on me more often than not.

I collapsed against the brick wall of the alleyway I'd crept into and ran a hand through my tousled blonde hair. Some strands hung limp in my eyes, brushing my lashes. I clutched my side, cringing at the pain. When I pulled my hand away, it was splotched in thick blood. I sighed and weaved a few signs with my hands, touching my bloodied palm to the gunshot wound the police had inflicted on me, mixed with the knife wound from some hooligan, hissing as it closed. I lifted the hem of my shirt up. Good as new. I chuckled lightly at how increasingly dangerous this game I'd invented was getting each time I played it.

* * *

"I'm back," I called out into the shallow emptiness that awaited me every day. My voice didn't so much as echo. Hardly. My apartment was by no means big. The bathroom was barely the size to move around in (though it did have a bathtub… built into the shower). My tiny bedroom was big enough to hold my full-sized bed, which was a necessity since I'm a violent sleeper who therefore needs a bed larger than a twin, and my little dresser. The miniscule kitchen was about three feet wide and ten feet deep—almost no cooking was done there because I hated the hassle. The itsy-bitsy "den" housed a little beat-up couch, an ancient TV set, and a dinosaur-age computer. But, hell, it was all good enough for me.

I retreated to a certain cabinet in the kitchen to seek out a cup of instant ramen. I filled it up with tap water and stuck it in the microwave for three minutes, leaning and lying my forehead on the cool countertops until it finished, the loud beeping startling me out of a replay of the day. I stirred the ramen in the water, recalling the events from earlier.

* * *

"Hey," I called to my boss, Soya. She was only about eight years older than my sixteen, and she ran the convenience store down in the city that I worked at. To be honest, she was a total vulgar bitch, but she was hilarious and I couldn't help but adore her. "I'm heading out for tonight. I've already worked an extra hour and a half. And I already picked up all my groceries here, too." I wrapped a black scarf around my neck and slung my backpack with my work t-shirt and some groceries in it over my shoulder. I was grateful for the employee discount of shopping here. I got everything I needed here, after all, food-wise.

"Alright," she mumbled from a few feet away. She had a clipboard and some not-very-difficult-looking paperwork that she was working on in her lap, brown hair flopping over to curtain her face. She flicked a hand half-heartedly. "See ya tomorrow."

"I don't work tomorrow," I told her, confused.

She ripped a piece of paper from the stack and the staple came with it as she shoved it into my hands. "You do now," she said. I glanced at it. It was my new schedule, informing me that I was now working Saturday mornings, too. The fuck?

"I can't do mornings," I said bluntly.

"You can if you tried," she said with a slight grin playing upon her shadowed face, flipping through more papers and scribbling more things down with her green pen.

I rolled my eyes and folded the paper into eighths. "Alright then," I said, walking for the door.

"Naruto?" she said as I held the door open.

"Hm?"

"Be careful," she advised. "you take a really bad path home and I don't want you getting hurt."

"Whoa, are you being _serious_ with me?" I asked, a grin spreading across my cheeks. "You mean, you actually care about my safety and well-being?"

"Of course I do," she said, pushing her glasses back up to her eyes.

My grin only grew. "Just like you did last week when I slipped and broke twenty-four bottles and fell in the glass, and you only said, 'Watch out, there's glass there'?"

She rolled her eyes at me and leaned back in her chair. "I don't wanna lose a good employee," she said.

I laughed a little. "She says I'm a good employee," I said to no one, and strolled out, the door's bell tinkling as I left. I continued down the street until the streetlights became few and far-between, dimmer and dimmer until I was in the "bad area" of town. Still, I strutted down the sidewalk as it became gravel as if nothing were any different. This was ordinary for me. I took a few turns down some deserted streets, a couple shortcuts through some empty alleyways, and when I came upon another alley, something came out and seized me by the wrist.

"Hey, kid," a husky voice said. "Got any money on ya?"

I sighed. I really wasn't in the mood for any of this. "Nah," I said. "I don't get paid till next Friday," I said sarcastically, turning to look the bastard who dared to try me in the eye. He had a scruffy beard and scraggly brown hair on a balding head.

"You think you're funny joking with me tonight, huh?" he said, anger tinting his words.

"Course I do," I said, then added, "cue ball."

He whipped out a huge knife (from Heaven knows where) and pressed it to my side. "You're a joker, eh?" He chuckled lightly. "Well I'm not in the mood for games tonight."

"Neither am I," I said, and he pressed the blade harder, tearing through my t-shirt.

"Good," he said. "So just hand over whatchya got and go on along."

I shoved my new work schedule into his chest. "'S all I got," I lied.

He didn't even glance at it as it fluttered down into a puddle of something unmentionable. He sliced the blade against my side and I felt blood trickle down onto the waistband of my jeans. He brought it up to my neck.

"You picked the wrong guy to mess with on the wrong night," I told him, "and the stupidest place to cut me. Like that little scrape's gonna do anything." He looked confused at that.

I twisted his arm around and shoved him against the wall of the alley. My other hand grabbed hold of his knife. I jumped and kicked him harder into the wall, kicking myself back and upward. I caught hold onto a metal stairway of someone's home and held on there. As he turned around to face me, I flung the knife at him. It stuck right in his stomach, no doubt slicing in right where his belly button was. He staggered but ripped the knife out and chucked it at me with horrible aim. I let go and it sparked along the wall and clattered to the pavement uselessly. I landed in a puddle of something that smelled less than pleasant, splashing it up onto my clothes. I was definitely _not_ going to love the next load of laundry. He ran at me recklessly, throwing his fists around as if expecting to land a punch or two. I grabbed his fists and pushed him back into the wall. He doubled over in pain, clutching his torso.

I stood back as far as the alley would allow, then ran at him full force with a Rasengan ready in my hand. Just as he looked up, the Rasengan tore through his arm, severing it from the elbow down.

The sounds of people occupying the buildings on either side of me started to create quite a ruckus. Some people stuck their heads out their windows. Before they could shine lights on me, I adjusted my scarf to hide the lower half of my face. I figured that would be enough, if only to hide the telltale scars on my cheeks that would be dead giveaways in a line-up. Some of them shouted at me, while I could hear others calling the cops. That was my cue to ditch.

I took off running through the alley, leaping over chain-link fences and dumpsters that blocked my path. Sirens were heard behind me and I picked up my pace easily.

Eventually, I came upon an alley with no fence at the end, but another brick wall that connected the two buildings beside me. I turned around to see a few police men all pointing their guns at me.

"Put your hands up!" one of them yelled angrily. "We have you surrounded!"

I laughed, but that they couldn't see. I raised my arms up in the air.

There was no way in hell they were gonna catch me.

I flipped backward, outstretched hands catching the surface of the wall. Without needing to grip or anything, my body managed another flip until my feet came into contact with the wall. I turned around and ran up the surface almost effortlessly as the cops shouted something undistinguishable and started to fire their handguns at me. As I thought I was home free when I reached the top of the building, an officer managed to snag my side with a bullet, conveniently where the hobo dude had grazed me with his knife. I staggered a bit at the dull pain but continued on, knowing that it was an insignificant wound.

I ran for awhile, diverting them from my intentional path to get home, stopping in an alley somewhere.

A few cop cars drove by, the sounds of their sirens distorting as they came and went, one after the other.

I let out a huff of breath.

This illegal game of being a ninja I played just got better and better.

* * *

An unhappy Naruto was usually the spawn of a Monday morning of school. Soya's new schedule for me (which I'd been hours late for the next morning) was fucking me over significantly, and I'd actually lost precious hours of sleep over it. I trudged into homeroom slowly, flopping into my desk tiredly, leaning my head onto my desk.

"What's wrong with you?" a familiar voice asked. Sakura turned around in her desk in front of me and perched her chin upon her interlaced fingers, elbows on my desk. I looked up at her for a moment and groaned. "You look like positive crap," she added.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

She only smiled. "No problem!"

Her head snapped back around with an imaginary-audible SNAP! When her stalker mode kicked in and noticed a new presence in the room. She detached herself from my desk and her hands automatically moved to smooth out her already-perfect pink hair. She sat up straight and fixed her plaid uniform skirt. She sniffed her wrist inconspicuously to make sure that her flower-scented perfume (like I paid attention to what kind of flower it was…[cough] Japanese cherry blossoms [cough]) hadn't worn off in the commute to school. Finally pleased with the way she was presented, she leaned forward to rest her elbows on her desk.

"Hey, Sasuke," she said cutely, blinking a few extra times, but her words were overpowered by every other girl in the classes' dramatic, "_Heeey,_ Sasuke~! " and a few annoying squeals. Sakura didn't notice, though, just continued to stare as the boy walked by her. I scoffed and leaned back in my chair, feet resting against the legs of her desk. He waved his hand slightly and grunted as he passed, and I could swear, that if looks could kill, there wouldn't be a single female alive in the class—or even the school—anymore. It was disgusting.

Sasuke took his place in a chair near the back of the room, placing his bag on his desk. I stared at him, scowling. He thought he was so perfect. Just because he had the top grades in the whole school (which shot Sakura's ego, though she vowed that she'd never surpass him, because that would be morally wrong, apparently… I'd love to smash him there if I could)… Ugh. I couldn't stand to look at him, but I just couldn't resist shooting him mental daggers. It gave me a selfish satisfaction that nothing else could.

He glanced up for a second, then held his gaze. His eyes were blank, holding no emotion. They caught me looking at him, but I didn't dare look away. I wasn't a coward. I continued to stare, as if to say, _yeah, you caught me staring. And I'm gonna keep staring. I won't look away first._ I crossed my arms across my chest and he raised an eyebrow.

"Naruto," Sakura said, arm swinging back to hit me lazily. She never once tore her eyes away from Sasuke, and neither did I. "Naruto," she said again.

"Hnn," I grunted.

"Sasuke is looking at me," she said nervously. "He's looking at me."

"And?" I said, not seeing the importance of this conversation.

"And!" she hissed under her breath. "What do I do?"

With some effort, I looked at Sakura. She had obviously given the effort to back at me, too. I shrugged.

"Thanks!" she said sarcastically. "You're so much help!" She turned around to look back at him, but he had already looked back down to his bag, pulling out a book. He shook his head, a slight, almost invisible grin on his face. His black bangs flopped down to veil his eyes, but I could tell that they were amused.

I can't believe I'd let him win that.

And I almost threw up.

* * *

The ending bell finally signaled the freedom from the rest of the day and conversation erupted all around the school. I was one of the first ones out of the classroom, knowing that I had to hurry to work in less than fifteen minutes.

Instead of going out of the front of the school, I cut through the cafeteria and snuck out the back doors that the janitors usually used, making sure none of them saw me walking through. I successfully made it out to the back parking lot of the school that was always empty because there was no point in parking back here for anyone. The abandoned soccer field was out here, too, the one that wasn't used because a new one had been made to replace it along the side of the school. The back was overall the most barren part of the school, therefore less crowded, and ultimately, in the direction of my work, so it would be faster to cut through the abandoned field and make it there faster.

I walked along the side of the building, guard almost down because it was so quiet, always so empty.

Of course, to my extreme disadvantage, I was thrown a bit off when I was shoved against the wall by two strong hands. They pinned the tops of my arms against the wall.

"Do you have a staring problem, Uzumaki?" Sasuke asked me, his voice low and accusing. I recalled homeroom period, glaring at him from across the room, and the way he'd only chuckled and shook his head when I looked away.

"Tch. Why?" I asked, not thinking anything of it. From the way he had me pinned, he seemed to be expecting a struggle, and from the look on his face, he looked to be expecting a fight. If it was a fight he wanted, it was definitely a fight he was going to get.

"It's only natural to suspect something when you catch someone staring at you several times in one class period," he said bluntly. His black hair hung in face and skimmed his eyelashes barely.

"Do you have a problem with it, Uchiha?" I spat.

His black eyes grew darker as I wondered if that was possible. His grip on my upper arms tightened. "Quite the opposite, actually."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I said, rage building up inside of me. "Let me go, you asshole!"

"What are you going to do if I don't?" he asked, calmer than a Hindu cow. He tilted his head slightly.

I struggled against his iron grip. "I'm gonna kick your ass!" I yelled at him. I managed to push a shoulder about an inch off the wall, but grunted when he pushed me back to where I was.

"As if you could," he said.

"I so could!" I shouted. "Wanna bet!"

"I'll make you a bet, all right," he said. His eyes fell for a second, then rose back up to look me in the eyes again. "I'll bet you that you won't be able to do anything in a minute here."

I stared at him blankly, crossly, for a lengthy amount of time, mouth agape, until I finally realized that I had nothing to say. I didn't bother to close my mouth, just let it hang open, to let him know that I was both shocked and disgusted at all the things that he'd just said. Why in the hell would Sasuke get a kick out of me staring at him? Did he just like the attention? He had enough of it from his little-big fan group, so why would he need me to be part of that, too? And betting that I wasn't going to do anything, hah! He was in for a sad surprise when I kicked his ass! Nothing was ever enough for him, was it?

Just then, my thoughts were confirmed.

Sasuke leaned forward swiftly and his lips seized my slightly open ones. He kissed me fiercely and shoved his tongue in my mouth. I felt my face grow hot in anger and tried to push him off, but his grip on me strengthened again. I thought of biting his tongue but his blood in my mouth was the last thing I wanted, next to his fucking tongue! I tried to kick him, but it seems he thought I'd do that and stood on my feet. As a last resort, I bucked my hips against his in an attempt to shove him off, but he only pushed me against the wall with his. I was stuck, and there was no way I was going to get out of the situation I was put in. His tongue slid across mine, tasted it, and I cringed against the touch. His body was pressed against mine and I was helpless, defenseless. He finally pulled away and caught his breath. My breathing was ragged, as I'd held my breath the whole time.

"Fuck you, Uchiha," was the only thing I could say.

He grinned darkly. "Anytime," he said, then let go completely and started to walk away.

I slid against the wall and onto my bottom trying to register everything that had just happened, feeling every pulse throughout my body.


	2. Spineless, Shameless Candor

"If you wish to **FORGET** anything on the spot, make a note that this thing is to be **REMEMBERED**."  
-**Edgar Allan Poe** (Famous poet)

* * *

"Hey, kid!" Soya called from across the store. She was struggling to hold up several cases of soda, legs shaking, and was leaning against a shelf for support. "Get your moping ass over here and help me out, will you?"

I shook my head at her, wondering why she referred to my ass as moping, and said, "_Kid _has a name."

"Whatever," she said. I sighed and pushed myself off the counter to lend her a hand. I grabbed a few of the cases from her and set them on a shelf. She sighed and stretched her back for a moment, then rubbed it and leaned against a shelf.

"What's up with you?" she asked, jerking her chin in my direction, as if there would be any other "you's" she could be talking about, and somehow I'd get it mixed up.

I tilted my head. "What are you talking about?"

She laughed a bit and said, "You've been sulking around the store all day. I swear, that negative aura of yours is about to spoil all the produce." She crossed her arms. "What's been irkin' ya?"

I shrugged, sticking my hands in my pockets.

"Don't give me that," she told me. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"You've been freaking me out lately," I said.

"What?" she said confusedly.

I chuckled. "What with all of the caring and stuff, it's really weird."

"That's not it, is it," she said, not satisfied.

"Nope," I said with a grin. She scowled at me, narrowing her eyes and moved her hand in a "go on" fashion. I looked up at the ceiling and shrugged again. "I dunno," I said, eyes tracing over the lines between the colored boards. "Lots of stuff." She raised an eyebrow. She obviously wasn't having any of it. I shifted my back on the uncomfortable rest, hearing a couple glasses of something scoot back, and continued to stare upward. "School, mostly."

"What of it?" she said, urging me to go on.

I shrugged _again_, not knowing what to say exactly. "Grades, I guess," I lied.

She started to walk away and slugged me in the shoulder on her way. "Well, you better get them up or I'll cut your hours so you can study!" she said to me.

I scoffed. "Whatever! You just _added_ hours on my schedule!" I said, walking past her and punching her back in the shoulder.

"Hey, watch that arm of yours, kid," she said with a smile, rubbing the spot where I'd punched her. "Any stronger now and I'd think your one of those ninja," she joked.

"Me?" I said, pointing to myself. "Ninja?" I widened my eyes in mock-surprise and put my hand on my chest as if taken aback. "What on earth would make you think that?"

She couldn't help but laugh a bit at my stupidity. "And wise-cracks like that, too."

I laughed and scratched the back of my head. As she walked away, I had this sudden urge, something I had to say… "Uchiha," I said suddenly.

"Hm?" she said. "You mean that Uchiha kid?" she asked. I nodded, wondering what had possessed me to blurt it out so suddenly. She crossed her arms. "Man, the damn kid is everywhere, I tell you. I see him in the newspapers, news, every-fucking-where. Spelling bees, tournaments, everything. He must be some kind of prodigy or something." She leaned against another shelf. "What of him?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, really. The name just popped into my mind," I lied.

She raised an eyebrow. "Huh." After a moment of just looking at me with that intense expression, she uncrossed her arms and started to walk away. "I don't blame you, he's everywhere. It's kinda hard for me to stop thinking about how talented the kid is, too." She sighed heavily as if it irritated her to talk about it. "Damn kids these days, parents pushing them too much…" She mumbled something about how the world was so fucked up and walked on.

Perplexed, I went back to the register just in case a customer came.

Ha, if only she'd known how right she was. About everything. Her joke about me being a ninja was right, and that look she gave me when I mentioned Sasuke just _screamed _"I know!"

She was usually dead-on about the things I did, but she was only ever joking about it all. It gave _me _reason to think that _she_ was a ninja. Sometimes I'd wished that I was able to be more open about it. Soya and I might even be able to fight it out sometime. I wished that being a ninja wasn't illegal.

Those longing thoughts aside, I pulled up a chair and sat at the counter, leaning my elbows on the counter and resting my chin on my hands. I sat like that for awhile , gazing at nothing, mind rampant, then after realizing how uncomfortable it was, let my head collapse into my arms completely.

I had an urge to start ripping out chunks of my hair, to grab a brand new toothbrush off of one of the racks and brush my teeth right here in the store.

I felt vile. Dirty. Wrong. Disgusted. I wanted to smash my head on the cash register until bills started fluttering around me and coins fell to the ground. I wanted to hit something with brute force, not holding back, even when the impact hurt me, too. Breaking something sounded like a good option, but I knew that it would come right out of my paycheck, and with my temper, I'd end up breaking more than I'd intended. Also, knowing _Soya's _temper, I decided against it, because I valued my life.

I settled for going out back for a break and smoking one of Soya's cigarettes from the pack she left out there with her lighter. I'd only smoked once before, when I had first started working here awhile back, and I hated it. I was curious as to why Soya always did it, and tried it myself, only to get my ass chewed out by the final boss herself. She was like a mom, sort of, by the way she yelled at me for it. And to be honest, I regretted it. I couldn't stop spitting for the rest of the day. But this time, I was desperate to get the taste of Sasuke's mouth out of mine, and I knew that the strong taste of lingering smoke would do the job best. I coughed at the burn that gathered in my throat, thinking that I'd probably breathed some paper in or something. The burn spread into my lungs and stomach. I hacked it out for a bit, then increasingly grew accustomed to its scalding qualities. I smashed the butt in the ashtray, cleared my throat a few times, and continued back inside. Soya told me that I could go home early that day. I think she smelled the smoke on me, because I hadn't made a single effort to try to hide it, but she didn't say anything. I had a feeling that it was another one of those ominous moments of hers and thanked the heavens that she hadn't kicked my ass for it.

* * *

"It's nice for you to join our class today, Naruto," said the teacher, Iruka, not bothering to look up from his grade book for a moment to look at me. He had noticed me sneak in and made a note that I was tardy. "For your failure to be here on time," he said to me in front of the rest of the class, "I want you to stay in here during lunch today and clean the boards." A couple of the students in the class snickered, and I turned around to scowl at Kiba, who I knew had to have been one of them. He stuck his tongue out at me. I resisted the urge to jump over a few desks and sock him in the head. "Got it?" Iruka sensei asked. He held out a little yellow slip of paper that read off my tardy and lunch detention.

"Got it," I repeated, grabbing the slip and continuing to my desk sluggishly. I sighed and plopped into my chair as Iruka told the class to get out their homework, the homework that I'd forgotten to do. I was sure I'd be reprimanded for it later.

"You look like you got two hours of sleep," Sakura said amidst the murmuring class, turning back slightly.

I leaned back in my chair and propped up my feet on the back of her chair. She pushed back to try to knock them off, but failed and gave up. "Try one," I said. "Maybe even half."

She turned back completely. "What were you doing last night?" she asked me curiously, the tiniest hint of worry glinting in her eyes, but it was still mostly curiosity.

"Couldn't sleep," I said, telling the partial truth. I was really sitting up in my bed most of the time, head in my hands. My sheets smelled of smoke, along with my pillow, rubbing off of my body or something. I jumped in the shower and washed as much of it off as I could, but no amount of effort got the stench of smoke off of my bed after lying in it first. So I washed my sheets, too, and pulled out another set. I brushed my teeth furiously, several times. I lied in bed, staring up at the ceiling blankly. I was trying desperately to get certain thoughts from my brain before I slept. No matter how hard I tried, I wasn't able to control the stream of thoughts that pummeled my conscious. Later thereafter, the same thoughts pummeled my subconscious, replaying in my dreams, twisting and contorting it into something thousands of times worse than what it had actually been. Needless to say, I had some personal things to take care of when I woke up in the morning that had caused me to be a little late for school.

"That stinks," Sakura said, knocking me out of my reverie. "I hate when I can't sleep. Usually it just happens the night before we take a big test. When it happens, though, I just light a scented candle. I really like floral scents, like lilacs; they help me relax and get to sleep easier, and _blah blah blah…_" She continued to ramble as I continued to ignore her.

As Iruka sensei went over the guidelines for the book report that we were supposed to have written, I lied my cheek down on the cold surface of my desk, reveling in how amazing it felt on my pulsing temples. I had a raging headache that made me feel as if a train had just hit it.

My subconscious decided to be a douche bag and replay my dreams for me in all of the variety of colorful ways I'd dreamt them the night before. I groaned against the surface of my desk as the bell rang loudly, the sounds vibrating in my ears. "Fuck's sake…" I mumbled before getting up.

I glanced across the classroom automatically—and there the bane of my rage and exhaustion was, staring right back at me, a tiny smile spreading across his face.

* * *

Lunch time came all too slowly, and before I could continue to the cafeteria to sit with everyone, I remembered that Iruka sensei had assigned me a detention. I'd forgotten about the detentions a couple times before, and it only resulted in the punishments being multiplied in either occurrences or length. Either way, I was never happy about it. I walked on back to the classroom hesitantly.

"There you are," Sensei said, seeming in a rush. He straightened out some things on his desk and fixed a stack of papers. "I was called out to a quick meeting for a couple minutes, maybe, so can I trust you to stay in here at least until you finish cleaning the boards?" he asked. Before waiting for an answer, he shook his head. "Oh well. If you don't clean them, I won't be so nice about grading the next time you forget to do a homework assignment."

"Oh, thanks about that," I said. "Sorry I never finished."

"I doubt you ever started," he said honestly with an amused smile.

"You're probably right," I told him.

He chuckled and grabbed a stack of papers and a binder. "Alright then," he said. "Get on cleaning," and then left the room.

I huffed and leaned against a desk for a minute, and after my short time of procrastination, I went into a cabinet in the back of the room and pulled out some all-purpose cleaner and a roll of paper towels, figuring that if Sensei were going to be back soon, I better get on working. I was nearing a halfway point when the door opened. I continued cleaning without looking over at who it was.

"Hey, Sensei," I said. "I'm just about half-done," I told him. He didn't respond for awhile. "What?" I said. "Was the meeting that bad?"

Someone pressed their body against mine, pushing me to the board, knocking the bottle of cleaner and towel out of my hands. My face and chest were pressed against the now-clean board and a stream of breaths fell on my neck.

"I have a feeling you're not Iruka," I groaned, trying to push back against the person that had trapped me there, but I was just that—trapped. They had my hands pulled behind my back tightly. "What do you want from—" I was cut off by the feeling of a warm tongue slide across the side of my neck. "Fuck!" I shouted. "What the hell are you doing!"

Sasuke chuckled. "What?" he said. "I can't have a little fun?"

"You can't have anything," I told him. "Not as long as it has to do with me."

He smiled, as I could barely see in my extreme peripheral vision. His tongue grazed the skin of my neck again lightly, and I tried to fight back against it. He kissed the flesh and licked it some more.

"Cut it the fuck out!" I demanded, wriggling against his hold on me. He only held on tighter.

"Why should I?" he asked.

"For one," I said, "Iruka's gonna be back any minute now!" I struggled to steady my breathing as he continued kissing. "And two, I'm gonna kick your fucking ass if you don't!"

"Heh, I'd like to see you try."

"Oh, would you?"

"I would."

I stopped struggling for a moment, arms relaxing into his firm grip. I tilted my head to the side a bit and he saw it as an invitation and bit down slightly. Shit, my plan for getting way to head-butt him was definitely out! I kicked backward at him but totally missed. I could beat the living shit out of a guy in an alley and outrun the cops, but I couldn't get an _Uchiha _off of me? How pathetic was I! He only responded to the attempted kicking by pressing the rest of his body against mine, forcing me into the wall completely. I could feel his calm breathing and steady heartbeats on my back as he lapped at my neck, sucking lightly.

"Iruka's meeting was extended," he told me. "He won't be back until at least the last period after his prep."

"How do you know?" I asked, nearly grinding my teeth.

"I stopped by the office."

No! I was waiting for him to walk in so that I could expose Sasuke for who he was, for what he was doing… But he had it all planned out. First, he attacked me where he knew no one else walked, then in the classroom where no one else would be. What a sly dog, I admitted to myself. He'd make a perfect ninja, I thought.

He kept one hand to hold on to both of mine while the other moved up to turn my head toward him. When I resisted, he grabbed a fistful of my hair and forced me to turn. I shut my eyes tightly when he took my mouth on his, refusing to think that anything was happening. _This isn't happening, _I told myself, eyes aching from being held shut so tightly. _This isn't really happening, there was just some freak accident where I hit my head that caused me to think that Sasuke has the hots for me._

"You can't ignore me," he said, realizing that I was being completely nonreactive.

"Yes, I can," I argued.

He kissed me again, hand pinching my cheeks to open my mouth. He shoved his tongue in, letting it glide across mine effortlessly. I tried to pull my tongue back, but he reached his over to mine and found it easily. I grunted against him but he only moaned back. I tried to push him backward with my lower body but he pressed even harder, pelvis totally in contact with my ass.

Suddenly, the kiss was broken unexpectedly and I was being dragged away. Sasuke threw me into Iruka's desk chair. It wasn't like the student chairs, but had padding and everything so that the teacher could be more comfortable than everyone else (of course, if I had that job, I'd want to be as comfortable as I could, too). But then wasn't the time to worry about comfort. Before I had time to even _think _about standing up and making a run for it, he was straddling me, pressing himself against me. He kissed me again, this time fiercer, hands grabbing my shoulders roughly. I groaned at the pain that it caused when his fingernails dug into my shoulders through my uniform shirt. I pushed against his chest with force, but he wouldn't budge. He tugged at the collar of my school tie to loosen it, and hands slid down the front of me and snaked under my shirt. His hands were ice cold and I shivered slightly at the touch. He started to unbutton it. He grinded his hips against mine and I accidentally let out a small whimper against his lips, feeling him smile at the reaction he'd gotten.

He broke the kiss for a moment to nibble on my earlobe and say, "I'm going to break you, Uzumaki."

My eyes widened at his words. "W-what!"

"You heard me," he said, pulling at the lapels of my shirt. "I didn't stutter." He forced the shirt off of me and tossed it carelessly onto Iruka's desk. He kissed my neck again, then collarbone, then chest, lying a trail of warm kisses.

My thoughts were running wild. First it was denial. He wasn't serious. He really was _not _serious! He couldn't have been! He was the top-fucking-dog for Chrissakes, messing around with the bottom-feeder! Then, it progressed to demeaning him. He wasn't going to. He didn't have the balls to. He didn't have the _fucking_ huevos to do anything! Soon after, it was pure fright. He couldn't. He shouldn't. It was wrong. It was… It was _just wrong._ He was going to take this from me, take one of the only things left to my name I had! He couldn't do that! Then, it turned to a somewhat form of agreement. He was going to, and there was no convincing him otherwise, so I might as well be quiet about it if he did…

And he was definitely going to. There was no denying it any longer.

Sasuke's hand moved swiftly to unbutton and unzip my pants. He pulled them down to my knees and his fingers danced over the hem of my boxers, but never pulled them down, surprising me. I thought that, the moment he had the chance, he'd yank them down and throw them on Iruka's computer, litter the room with my clothes a little more.

He gave me one quick kiss on the lips and stood up. I glanced up at him with wide eyes, clutching the edges of the seat. I didn't realize I had been holding my breath for most of the time until I released it and panted heavily, didn't realize how hard I'd been holding on to the chair until I relaxed and my fingertips were red. He shook his head to fix his ruffled hair and it fell perfectly in place, of course. My mind was blank, nothing coming up, not a sarcastic remark or a pissed off gesture. I just sat there, staring up at him curiously, wondering just _what_ it was that he could have wanted from me, just at that moment. I mean, a second ago, wasn't he going to…?

"You might want to do something about that," he said casually, smirking. He then straightened up his uniform shirt and tie combo and walked out of the classroom, closing the door behind him.

After a moment's hesitation, I put my shirt back on, fixed my tie, and started to pull up my pants—when I realized that it wasn't going to work out, because I had an erection.

I stared down at my hardened cock, dumbfounded.

What in the _fucking fuck_ was my body thinking, getting all turned on at the thought of Sasuke doing those dirty things to me!

A little more than pissed off and a little less than scared, I stood up and ran over to the classroom door. I nervously peeked my head out to see if anyone was wandering around the hallway during lunchtime, glad to find no one. Sasuke really did have that planned out. With a sigh of relief, I ran out into the hallway and down a ways until I came upon the empty bathroom. I locked myself in the farthest stall and let out a pissed off sigh when I sat down on the cold porcelain. With increasing, everlasting shame, I jerked off to the thought of Sasuke's mouth around me instead of my hand.


	3. Fragile, Shattering Porcelain

"One fire **BURNS** out another's burning; One pain is lessen'd by another's **ANGUISH**."

-**Shakespear**e, _Romeo and Juliet, 1, 2_

* * *

The walk home was long, tiring, and overall exhausting, making me kind of glad that I didn't have to work that day. I'd had to stay after school and finish cleaning the boards while getting a lecture from Iruka about "half-assed jobs," and because of that, missed the subway home. The next didn't come for a good two hours. Although Iruka wasn't too mean about it, it still felt really bad getting in trouble for something that wasn't totally my fault. But I didn't say anything, just nodded and agreed to everything he was saying. I saw the worried look on his face every time I never gave him a single response that was considered "normal" for me, but he didn't ask. He knew that some things were better left untouched, and I knew that most things were better left unsaid.

Though it didn't keep me from being pissed off about it.

The Winter air was chilly and stung my nose and fingertips. When I arrived to my apartment, finally, my hands shook so violently that it took me at least ten minutes to unlock the door. I stumbled inside and tossed my backpack on the couch. I blasted the heater up to the nineties and jumped in the shower, putting it on as hot as it could go. The gas company was probably going to love me when they sent out my bill later. My long shower steamed up the whole bathroom, which wasn't very hard, given the size, turning it into a little sauna.

I sat on the counter in my towel for a long time, leaning back, my wet hair dripping water down the mirror. I closed my eyes and just sat there for awhile, not moving, trying desperately not to think about anything at all. By the time I slid off the counter at a sloth-like pace, the clock on my nightstand read 9:45, and I looked down at my crimson toes, wondering where the hell the time had gone.

* * *

The bell rang just as I slid in homeroom, surprised that I wasn't late that day. Sakura didn't have much to say, just smiled and said hello. I nodded in response. She started to complain a little bit about how the weather was mussing around her "luscious hair," but I tuned her out. I pulled out the homework that I'd actually done, and class went on as normal.

I never dared to glance across the classroom, but I didn't feel the same heat boring into my head as I had before. I didn't even bother to wonder why.

"Naruto?"

"Hmm?" I looked up at Iruka Sensei, snapping out of a trance. I'd been spacing out, staring at the wood pattern on my desk, not knowing exactly what I was doing at all. It was as if my mind had shut down and I was on autopilot.

He tapped the huge math problem on the board with his marker, making me wonder (not for the first time) why he taught us such random subjects in homeroom. "Do you have the answer?"

I looked down to my paper at the chicken scratched formula of something that I'd already learned a couple years before. "The formula is cosα+cosβ=2cos12α+βcos12α-β…" I went on to explain the answer in clear detail, everything that I'd written down seeming to be the correct answer.

Iruka stared in astonishment as if it were the first time I'd made an effort in class. It probably was. I blinked as he continued to stare for a second. He then cleared his throat and wrote what I'd said on the board, word for word, number for number, symbol for symbol. "Thank you, Naruto," he said. I nodded at him and slipped back into my reverie, but not for much longer.

Sakura swiveled around in her chair. "What's up with you today?" she asked.

"Huh?" I said.

"You're, like, on a roll," she explained. I tilted my head at her.

At the seat next to her, Kiba turned around to face me and said, "Yeah, usually you're all '_Duuuuhhh_,' but today you're like," he sat up straight and changed his facial expression to something mock-pompous, "'_E=mc__2__!_'"

I rolled my eyes at his horrible analogy. "Thanks for the compliment," I said, and chuckled a bit.

"You smiled," he said, "I'm off the hook!" He turned back around in his desk and tried to figure out everything he missed. I looked back down to my paper again and found that I'd been absently scribbling everything Iruka wrote on the board.

* * *

School came and went, and before I knew it, I was on my way out the back building to head on to work. I had just about half an hour to get there until I had to work at two o'clock and I was actually planning on being early today, to make up for what I took off the other day, even though she let me off early. I felt kind of bad for it.

I stared down at the sidewalk, kicking stray rocks out of the way as I walked along. I hadn't been paying attention when I ran into something—or someone, rather. I looked up, already knowing who it was.

Except it wasn't who I'd expected.

"Hey, Uzumaki," said Roba (his name was something to be ashamed of), this thug in a class or two of mine. He was big and burly, and definitely something to be intimidated by, but not me. Of course, he had no idea that I was skilled in ninjutsu, so I thought I definitely had the upper hand. "You did pretty damn good in class today," he said.

"What of it?" I said.

Wrong words. He scowled at me. "What of it!" he repeated. He leaned in close to me. "You ain't never done that good since the beginnin' of the year," he said.

"Your point is…?" I egged him on.

His face turned red with instant anger. Talk about issues. He grabbed the front of my shirt and shook me violently. "I'm sayin' that I want your homework!" he yelled. "Tomorrow mornin'! You're gonna do it tonight and give it to me tomorrow!"

"Uh huh," I said boredly. "So what you're saying is that you want me to do your work for you?"

"What the hell else would I be sayin'!" he shouted with a stupid look on his face.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "And that, since you're too stupid to do your homework, you'd ask someone who's too lazy to do his?" I chuckled as he grew redder than a tomato. "You definitely picked the wrong guy today."

"What are you—OOF!" I knocked the breath out of him with a blow to the stomach. If the dumbass wanted to threaten me, he should've made sure I couldn't fight back. He instantly let go of my shirt and went flying away, landing on his back. I strolled over to him casually to look down on him.

"Still want that homework?" I asked.

He propped himself up on his elbows. "Get him!" he shouted, spit flying from his mouth. "I want his head on a silver fucking platter!"

Suddenly, from the walls that turned toward the school where the dumpsters were, several other guys poured out. There had to be at least six of them. They all ran over toward me.

I cracked my knuckles and rolled my neck. "Alright," I said, half to myself. "Bring it."

The first, I managed to land a crack to his temple. The second got a chop to his throat and a kick to his stomach. The third landed a punch on my chest but suffered some internal bleeding in his abdomen. The fourth managed to trip me, but I absorbed the fall with my hands and spun around, his hands around my ankle. I sprang up and kicked him in the chest with my free foot. He let go and I used the kick off of him to launch my hand into the fifth, whose torso faced the wrath of a little mini-Rasengan. He stumbled back into the sixth one, knocking both of them down.

The sixth pushed him off and ran toward me, hand pulled back. When he shot it at me, it burned my stomach, shooting me back, leaving a smoking mark on my chest. My hands flitted to it to see the hole burned away in my shirt, feeling the blackened skin. I looked up at him, craning my neck on the pavement to see him coming toward me. Everyone else stood up, suddenly seeming unaffected by everything, totally 100% okay. They all had angry expressions, save for one who had an evil smile plastered on his face. They crept toward me slowly, fingers curled into claws.

"I'm gonna gutcha," one said darkly. "I wanna see whatcha got inside."

"Maybe something's in his brain," another said. "I call it. I call the brain." The rest of them started to call out random body parts and claim them as theirs. Roba stood up finally and dusted himself off.

"I'll kill ya," he said. "You're dead."

I started to say something, but the burn in my chest protested, seeping deeper and burning brighter. Was this… was this some kind of ninjutsu! Was that kid a ninja? Were they _all_ ninja? My eyes widened at the thought. I'd never encountered another before, never fought one, never known what to do when it happened. I wasn't prepared, and now I was gonna be dead. I tried to think quick, hand clutching the burn mark. It glowed brighter and seared more of the skin off. I hissed at the pain building up to a new level and scooted back against the wall of the building as they grew closer. It grew more and more difficult to breathe, the ache intensifying with each breath, throbbing with each heartbeat. The twinge turned to agony and I could literally hear it sizzling and saw smoke rising. I closed my eyes at the affliction, closed them tightly as they neared me slowly. I waited for them to come—but they never did.

"The fu—!" Roba exclaimed, but was cut off. There were sounds of screaming voices, punches, people landing on the pavement, and snapping that I was sure to be the breaking of bones.

And then it was dead silent.

I waited.

I waited, and didn't open my eyes.

Two hands slid under my body and lifted me up, started to carry me away. They stumbled for a second, but kept their hold on me firm, refusing to let go. I sleepily opened my eyes a crack to look up at who it was.

The dangling black hair blew slightly back as he walked quickly, pace quickening, and the expression on his face was something to worry about. He looked pained and winced while he walked, but he continued on as if he couldn't afford to stop.

"Uchi…ha…" I breathed, barely. He looked down at me quickly, not sure what to say. So he kept on walking and didn't stop until we got to my house. But I'd blacked out long before that.

* * *

"Where the hell are you!" Soya answered. Not a _hello, _or a _hey, are you okay? _It was just _where the hell are you!_ "What do you think you're doing! I mean, your shift's almost over and you're not here, damnit!"

Sasuke didn't hesitate to respond. "Hello, is this Uzumaki Naruto's boss?"

Soya sighed. "Yes, it is." The tone of her voice changed from anger to a calm confusion. "Has something happened with Naruto?"

"He is unable to make it to work today due to an injury," Sasuke told her.

"Can I speak with him?" she asked, sounding impatient. She sounded immensely worried, Sasuke noted.

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto, lying unconscious on his bed. He sighed again and said finally into the receiver, "No."

"Ah," was all she said. After a moment, she added, "You must be Uchiha."

"…Yes," Sasuke told her, not surprised that she knew who he was.

"I see," she said. "Well then, tell him he can take all the time he needs off."

"I will. Thank you." He set the phone back on the hook and leaned back on the doorframe where he'd been standing the whole time, hands shoved in his pockets. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ward off the headache that had been attacking him since the afternoon. He saw the sun start to set outside and closed his eyes. After awhile, he looked to Naruto, sleeping silently. He never stirred, never fidgeted. He just lied there.

Sasuke hoped to the heavens that he would wake up and be okay soon.

* * *

My eyes felt crusty when I opened them. How long had I been sleeping? I looked at the clock on my nightstand—12:48 AM. Shit, Soya was gonna _kill_ me for missing work. I looked around the dark room, seeing nothing, and wondered what in the hell I was doing at home. I must've wandered home out of laziness and took a nap in my room or something…

I started to sit up, then hissed at an intense pain that stabbed at my chest. My hands flew to it automatically and I felt the ridges of bandages and wrap there, pulled tight around it. I was almost tempted to peel them off to see what was under it, but I decided against it. If it hurt that bad and there was that much wrap, it must have been something really bad. I scratched at it absently, cringing at the dull ache it caused. My head fluttered a bit and I felt like I had to lie back down again, go back to sleep for a few more hours.

"Don't touch it," a voice said from my doorway. I looked over at the shadow hanging there on the frame, leaning against it tiredly more than casually. They looked absolutely exhausted. He fidgeted a bit, face catching a hint of the moon's glow for a second.

"Get out of my house," I spat automatically, "_now_." I tried to sit up again. "_Gaah!_" My breath was instantly knocked out of me and the stabbing pain intensified again. I clutched it and scratched at the bandages.

"I told you not to touch it," Sasuke said, sighing. He must have been sighing at my naivety or something.

I glared at him. "Don't tell me what to do!" I said through my clenched teeth. I clutched the sheets of my bed in pain as I scoot back to sit against the wall behind my bed. I took a few deep breaths that stung as I took them in, burned when I let them out. I rubbed the bandages lightly, tracing over the ache with my fingertips. Every feather-light touch induced several shocking pains. I winced a little. "F-fuck," I muttered, then took my hand away from it. "What the hell are you doing here?" I asked him finally.

"I had to treat your wound," he said. "There wasn't enough time to make it to a hospital."

"How did you get here so fast?" I asked. "I usually take the bus or something…"

"I ran," he said simply.

Suddenly, I recalled looking up at Sasuke, hair flowing back behind him because of the way he walked faster and faster as we went along, before blacking out.

I looked around the room for something, looking at the texture of the sheets and the walls as if they housed the answers that I was looking for. For anything that would explain.

"What… happened?" I asked, looking up at him carefully.

He closed his eyes, arms crossed. "Roba," he said, "and his gang."

I didn't stop looking at him. "Huh?" What was he talking about…?

He pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers, a move I was familiar with when I got a headache or something. "Roba and his gang attacked you behind the school," he explained, "and some of them were ninjas, I think." He shook his head. "There wasn't any way you were getting out, so I kinda just jumped in."

I looked away. I couldn't stand to look at him.

"Get out," I told him. He said nothing. "I don't want to look at you." He remained silent. "I don't want to look at you, who saved _me._" It's pathetic, I saved for only myself to hear. It's pathetic to have been saved by the one person you strived to surpass in life. When there was no one else that you wanted to compete with, and you had to say that your very life was saved by that person, it was a huge shot to your ego, and not to mention your mentality.

"You're being immature," he said at last.

"Damn right I am," I said quietly to myself, wringing the edge of the sheets on my bed in my fingers nervously. It was a habit that I hated.

He sighed and detached himself from the doorframe to sit on the edge of my bed.

"You were burned," he said softly, so even I could barely hear, "badly." He stopped for a moment, then continued on in a different tone. "And I'll be damned if I let someone just get their ass handed to them for no reason other than a few stupid homework assignments." His eyes looked different somehow… worried.

"Why?" was all I asked, still staring down at my lap.

He shook his head. "I couldn't tell you," he said, "because I don't even know myself." He said nothing in the reserve of my bedroom, did nothing. After awhile, he said, "You're just… so easy to break," he confessed. "I didn't want to see someone break you like that."

I kept my head lowered. There was really nothing that I could say to that, in all honesty. I could be stupid and say something like, "Thanks," or even be a dick and say, "Get the fuck out, you idiot," but both of them seemed inappropriate.

Sasuke basically saved my life. My enemy risked his life to save mine. That was something that I had to be grateful for. And… I was. In a sense.

I looked up at him sitting there, the moonlight filtering in through the window making him look even paler than he was. Maybe it wasn't the moonlight, though. Maybe he was pale because of the way he was feeling or acting… Something didn't seem right about him. I searched his face for something, anything that would lead me to what was wrong.

He shifted in the way he sat, and his hand fluttered to his right knee as he winced slightly, obviously trying to hide it. His hand had left it as soon as it had gotten there.

"What happened to you?" I asked without hesitation.

"Nothing," he said.

"You're lying."

"I am not."

"You are, too!" I almost shouted, then stopped to clutch my chest when it started to throb in protest. "Who's being immature now?" I pouted a bit, then asked again, "What happened to you?"

He sat in silence for a bit, then answered, "Jus' a scratch. On my knee."

"Oh," was all I said. He nodded slightly, almost unnoticeably.

It almost pained me more to look at him, to look at the way he held himself. In class, he was Mr. High and Mighty, _I don't give a shit about what you do, as long as you don't bother me_, "the hottest guy" that everyone loved so much. But at the moment I looked at him there… His head was rested in his hands, hair dangling loose over them. He winced every time he moved his leg, and it was obviously not just a scratch.

It did pain me to look at him. A lot.

Even in all of the hurt it caused me to move, I shifted on the bed. I leaned forward on my bed toward him, took his face in my hands, and kissed him.

At first, he was confused. He had been the one kissing _me_ for the past two days. He had been the one harassing _me_ when all I wanted was to punch the shit out of his face. And now I was kissing him suddenly, without any reason other than to comfort him…

And as much as I didn't want to admit it to myself… I think I really liked Sasuke.

I pulled back, looking at his eyes. He looked different now. Less worried. More bewildered… and not just him. I was pretty damn puzzled myself here. I mean, I kissed him. I _kissed _him. _Him_.

"Uzumaki…" he said. "What… was that?"

I shrugged. "I don't kn—" I never finished, though, because I was being pulled toward him by the arm.

He pressed his lips against mine again, kissing me softly. After a little, I daringly ran my tongue along his bottom lip, wondering what it was like. He invited me, opening his mouth in response. I licked his tongue slightly, and he moved his back, fighting for dominance. I wouldn't let him have it. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he slid his around my torso, naked besides the bandages. He kissed me harder, teeth grazing my bottom lip, and when he bit down, I pulled him closer to me, an automatic reaction. He broke the kiss and moved his lips to the side of my neck, lying a kiss there and licking it, then biting there softly, nibbling the flesh. I moaned slightly when he bit down harder, fingers intertwining in locks of his jet black hair.

He grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled my head to the side to have better access to my neck. He bit and sucked the flesh hard enough to leave a mark, then did so on my collarbone and on my stomach and hip. I reveled in each one. It was probably easier for him now, too, without me fighting against it, but instead, welcoming it. Wanting it. My hands instinctively moved to slide up the front of his shirt and slide it off of him shakily. He kissed my lips again, biting my lip even harder, so hard that I whimpered at the amount of pain filling me up.

He continued kissing me, kissing my jaw, my neck. He kissed the spot below my ear and started to work my pants off of my legs, pulling them off easily and tossing them onto the floor. I did the same to him, hurriedly, hands unsure of what to do. I looked down at his knee to see what had happened, but it, too, was wrapped in bandages. He pushed on my shoulders slightly and I fell to lie back on my bed again, him crawling on top of me, straddling my hips, knees pinned against them.

His hips grinded on mine roughly and I let out another whimper, this time not out of hurt but of pleasure. My semi-hard cock started to grow more erect, as did his. He kept on grinding them together, the friction of the cloth separating them getting unpleasant. His thoughts seemed to mimic mine, and after kissing a trail down my neck, chest, and stomach, he licked a spot on my hip and slid my boxers off, tossing them callously onto the floor.

Everything was moving so fast and I didn't have time to register a single thing. It was all in one stream, seemed to be one prolonged action, and I wasn't following.

He took my erection into his hand and started to pump, finding a regular pace. I squirmed underneath his unfamiliar touch, moaning loudly, but I longed for it. My body seemed to react in a way that said it was just what it wanted. He moved to take me into his mouth, licking from base to tip, and pumping the rest that he couldn't take with his hand and starting to pump faster.

"A-aahn, fuck—!" I shouted at him, worrying that I'd wake the neighbors, but not totally caring at the same time.

His hand that wasn't pumping was groping the right side of my ass, rubbing it slightly. I clutched onto his shoulders tightly, nails no doubt digging into his skin. He started to move faster, using his tongue more, going deeper and deeper until he didn't need to use his hand anymore. He took me fully into his mouth and I convulsed a little, almost thrusting into his mouth. He grabbed my balls and moved them around in his hands, rubbing them. It was just nearly too much.

"S-Sasuke…" I breathed. "I can't… I'm gonna—ahh!" He moved even faster yet, waiting for it to come. "Ah! F-fuh—_aaaghhn!_" I came into his mouth, some of it dripping out the edges. He swallowed what he could, then licked the rest up off of me from where it had dripped. My breathing was ragged and uneven as he pulled away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. I panted into the openness of my bedroom, eyes narrowed.

Before he could pull completely away, I seized his body by the hips as he started to get up and turned him around as he was about to walk away. I sat on the edge of the bed and he stood up in front of me.

"Sasuke…" I said quietly, fingers grabbing onto the waistband of his boxers. "Let me."

He put his hands over mine. "I wouldn't want you to if you don't want to."

"I want to," I said sternly. He hesitated, then moved his hands to my shoulders. I pulled his boxers down and he stepped over to kick them somewhere.

I took his cock into my hand, thumbing over the tip, smearing the pre-cum over. I started to pump at a steady rhythm, and he moaned under my touch. After a bit, I took him in my mouth, pumping what I couldn't suck. I used my tongue and caressed it over the tip, then slid it back downward again. I pumped with my hand again and started to suck on his balls, one by one, making sure to get each one completely. He bucked his hips and his knees buckled finally, giving out on him. I should've thought of that before—Sasuke had hurt his knee. I turned to let him lie on the bed. I spread his legs out fully and leaned down to keep going.

"Nngh—" He refused to let me hear his voice completely. I bobbed my head faster, used my tongue more. "Aghh!" _That's more like it. _I moved faster, quicker, and he continued to moan over and over. Finally, he came into my mouth, the hot liquid bursting out. I swallowed most of it, but ended up hacking on some of it and spitting the rest out onto the sheets. He cried out loudly and his nails raked down my back, catching the bandages momentarily. He pulled me down to him and kissed me passionately, and I could taste myself on my tongue. I wondered if he could taste himself, too.

It was a different thought.

I lied down on my bed next to him, kicking off the sheet that was covered in cum. I stared up at the ceiling for awhile and finally asked, "Are you staying?" I looked over to him, and he closed his eyes, nodding, taking deep breaths through his mouth. I leaned over off my bed to pick up another blanket. I spread it out over the both of us and gave Sasuke a pillow, hoping he'd be comfortable enough.

I collapsed next to him, exhausted, breathing finally calming.

Before falling asleep, though, I gave Sasuke a small kiss on the lips and scooted closer to him, feeling the warmth generating between our naked bodies. I attached myself to his side and fell asleep instantly.

This porcelain had definitely shattered easily.


	4. Darkening, Thickening Permafrost

"The best way to one's **WORD **is not to **GIVE **it."

**-Napoleon Bonaparte **(French military and political leader of France and Emperor of French as **Napoleon I**)

* * *

THURSDAY

I hit the snooze button on my alarm clock for the fourth time. Fifth time. Soon, it had been half an hour since I was supposed to have been up and I decided that I didn't really feel like getting up at all and switched the alarm off completely, almost punching the annoying hunk of plastic off of the nightstand.

It was mostly because the first time I'd woken to the nasally alarm, I turned over to find an empty spot on the bed next to me, the sheets cold. There was no trace of Sasuke left, no telltale sign that he'd ever been there, and I stared at the spot where he'd been sleeping for a few minutes, thoughts at a halt.

_Whatever_, I told myself. _Of course he'd leave. What did you think he was gonna do?_ I pondered that question for a moment, even though the answer was pretty obvious, furrowing my brow into my pillow's warm surface. _Great. I was just on the shit end of a one-night-stand, and I was going to have to see him on an almost-daily basis…_

I rolled over onto my back because lying on my chest made it difficult to breathe with the wound. I lied there staring up at the ceiling, centering myself. I weaved a few symbols with my hands and pressed one to my chest, focusing on healing what was damaged under the bandages, but the pain only intensified and flared around the edges of the burn mark. I winced and realized that it was too serious a burn to heal right away, and all at once. It took a lot of effort, but I relaxed and limited myself to healing only a tiny bit of it. It still stung a bit, but it was more easily ignorable.

By that time, I was totally convinced that my subconscious had a huge bone to pick with my conscious or something, because it was constantly throwing things at me that I didn't want to think of. Images of Sasuke's face lit by the pale moonlight, the shape and contour of his body without anything to cover it, the sound of his voice when he cried out, the feel of his mouth… I shook my head violently to get the thoughts to disappear, but they kept resurfacing, each one more vivid than the next until it was basically a movie replaying in my head.

I pulled a pillow tight over my face until I was nearly suffocating and tossed it at a wall. My whole bed smelled like Sasuke, the light scent of almost undetectable cologne lingering, something with a hint of… cinnamon. I found myself burying my face in the sheets, taking it all in, and I felt my face get hot at the embarrassment of it and pulled away.

* * *

Two o'clock came faster than I'd thought and I clocked in at work just as the clock was about to tick to Two oh-one. I sighed and stuck my card back in the almost empty row of slots. There I saw mine, Soya's, and Midori's, a girl about my age who worked here mostly in the early mornings, from what I've seen on her card, but I've only ever caught her before my shift a few times.

Soya nodded at me as I came from the back room with my uniform shirt on, a lollipop stick hanging out of her mouth and headphones covering her ears. Even though she was about twenty-four, she always looked and acted a lot younger, but I figured that twenty-four wasn't really that old. Come to think of it, though, when I'd started working here awhile back, she had to have just been around twenty then, right?

She went along humming the song that she was listening to, nothing that I recognized.

I went to stand behind the register, turned the other way, leaning my hip against the counter. I bit my nails compulsively, a habit that I had and didn't really like too much.

The bell on the front door dinged and I turned to see who had walked in.

"Oh, hey, Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, walking up to the counter. She leaned over it and gave me a friendly hug.

"Uhh, hi, Sakura," I said awkwardly, wishing she'd let go. When she did, I scratched the back of my head nervously and took a step back. "I've never seen you here," I told her.

"I didn't know you worked here," she said, eying my uniform shirt curiously. "I never see you here, I mostly come on weekends. Sundays, I mean."

"That might be why, I don't work Sundays," I said.

"Maybe! Well that's just grocery day for me, but usually my parents come here instead. Have you ever seen them?" she asked, a glint of wonder in her eyes. Was she surprised that I had a job, or something?

"Ah, no," I said, "I've never met your parents, remember?"

She laughed lightly. "Yeah you have!"

"Huh?" I tilted my head in question. "When?" I never recalled meeting her parents, ever. If I did, I think I would have remembered.

She smiled widely. "Remember that time at the park?"

I thought for a moment. "…Huh?" I said again.

"That one day at the park," she said, "when I fell off the swings and you helped me, walked me home because no one else was there."

"Oh yeah!" I said, suddenly remembering. That day was pretty hazy now, but I kind of recalled a smaller Sakura leaping off the swings at the highest point, not falling like she'd said (because she didn't want to admit how much of an idiot she was being), over-shooting the soft, shock-absorbing sand and face-planting on the concrete. "Ha, I remember that! You were so dumb!"

"Hey!" she shouted, leaning over the counter more to punch me in the arm playfully. Even though it was always playful, she packed a mean punch. I don't think that Scrawny Sakura was aware of her own strength…

"Well, yeah," I said, nodding, "I kinda do remember your parents." Vaguely, I pictured her mother and father, but the faces were lost in time. "I don't see them too often, though."

"Oh, that's too bad," she said. "Well, I gotta go pick some things up, I'll be back here in a bit." She flashed me a huge smile and whisked off into the aisles.

Soya showed up just as soon as Sakura had went off, headphones still blasting music into her ears. Humming along, she pulled a bare lollipop stick out of her mouth and walked around the counter to throw it in the garbage can there, not uttering a word to me. She started to walk off, but then stopped abruptly in her path and pulled her headphones off to let them hang around her neck. She turned around to walk back over to the counter. "That your friend?" she asked, jerking a thumb back in Sakura's direction.

I nodded. "Sakura," I said simply.

She glanced back, but Sakura wasn't there. "She's a cutie," she said.

Trying hard not to blush, I nodded again. "I guess," I told her, "but she's got a horrible temper."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Who cares? Like you haven't talked to girls with a bad temper before?"

"You're right," I said, stifling a laugh. "I'm talking to one right now."

Her jaw dropped, but she was smiling as she smacked me lightly across the head. "Whatever!" she said. She laughed a little and crossed her arms. "So," she said, "got a thing for her?"

"I thought bosses weren't supposed to get involved in their employees' personal lives," I joked.

"Tch," she said, "when has that stopped me?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I said, leaning against the wall behind me.

"So do you?" she prodded.

"Yeah."

"Ooh-la-la," she said with a devious smirk.

"But she likes someone else," I said, now crossing my arms.

She scoffed. "Who could it be?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. "No one can be better than _my_ employee, right?"

"Ha," I said. "If only!"

She chuckled. "Well, do you know who it is?"

"Yeah," I said, sparing the details.

"Well, beat his ass!"

"_What?_" I said, a little surprised that she was encouraging me to do something _bad_. "I thought you made me promise not to get in any fights? Against the work ethic, right?"

"Tch!" she said. "To hell with that, I say fight him, show her who's boss!"

"I think she'd like me even less," I said honestly, "along with all of the other girls at my school. I mean, the guy practically has a fan club." That was the full truth. I remember saying something to Sasuke once, and the end result was him punching me in the face and every girl in the class, save a few, shouting and bickering at me angrily not to hit him because he would "kick my ass to next Thursday!" Actually, Sasuke and I had had our share of fights here and there, most of them being stopped by the fan group.

"Hmm?" she said. "Who is it?"

"Why? Are you savvy with all the high schoolers?" I joked.

"Totally," she joked.

I chuckled. "Well, it's Uchiha," I told her.

She scowled at the sound of the name. "Oh," was all she said, before she turned around when Sakura came walking up. "After you," she said to her with a smile, moving aside, "humor the imbecile here."

I glared at her. "Thanks," I called after her as she walked away. Sakura just laughed, a little more bubbly than usual. She must have been in a good mood, for some reason.

She set down various things on the counter, some milk, a small bag of rice, some bean paste, other random things. I scanned everything as she started to chat with me.

"Why weren't you at school today?" she asked. _Okay, so more like interrogation_.

I shrugged. "Didn't feel like coming, I guess."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Didn't feel like coming, _huh?"_ She stared me down intensely, making me think for a split second that she _knew_. "Was it that, or didn't feel like doing homework so you didn't show up?"

"There was homework?" I said, confused. I didn't remember having a single assignment.

"Exactly," she said, her point having apparently being proven. I finished scanning and bagging everything and she pulled out a plastic card and handed it to me.

"So why are you in such a good mood?" I asked. "Something good happen?"

She put her hands on her hips, ignoring the keypad when it asked her to put in a PIN code. "Why? Does something good have to happen for me to be in a good mood?" I gave her a certain look and she laughed. "Oh, alright."

"Put in your PIN," I said, pointing to the keypad.

"Oh yeah." She punched in the number and hit enter. Her receipt printed and I stuck it in a bag. "And in case you were wondering," she said, grabbing the bag I handed to her, "Sasuke asked me to the movies to see _Shadow Love_ tomorrow night, six o'clock."

A bag slipped from my hand and landed on the floor, a carton of milk breaking open and splashing all over the place. Sakura let out a little shriek as milk drenched her feet and legs.

"Naruto!" she yelled, good luck spoiling. "You klutz!" She shook out her legs but the milk wasn't going anywhere.

"Shit!" I shouted. "I'm so sorry!" I ducked under the counter for a second to pull a roll of paper towels out from underneath. I ripped a whole bunch off the roll and dashed around the counter to her. I started to soak up the milk, but she snatched a few from me and dried her own legs. I settled with just cleaning the floor. "I'm seriously sorry," I said, "I'm all thumbs today."

"Damn right you are!" she yelled. "God, it's gonna smell so bad…" She fretted over the milk all over her legs and finally finished drying them. She handed me the wet paper towels and picked up her bag.

"I'll buy you another one," I offered. "Really, it's my fault and—"

"Well, thanks, Uzumaki," she interrupted. "I think I'll be going now." She stomped out of the store in a huff of an estrogen-powered tantrum.

"_Fuck_," I mumbled, finishing the floor. I tossed all the paper towels in the garbage and went to the back room to grab a mop and one of those stupid "WET FLOOR" that someone had once managed to be made into "WTF FLOOR." People were so immature around here (including myself). Soya had made me fix it. Yes, made. Super fun.

I mopped the floor absently and placed the sign over it. I glanced over at a clock behind the register—8:36 PM. I sighed and went _back_ to the back room to change, clocked out, and left before Soya ever came back up to the front.

* * *

"I'm home," I called out into my empty apartment, hearing nothing in return but a faint echo, as always. I turned on the heater, tossed my uniform shirt on the floor next to my couch, and fell back on the slouching cushions. The heater groaned a little bit, the sound of complaining pipes sounding in the apartment's void, and kicked in. The vent on the ceiling was pointed right at me, and I leaned farther back into the cushions, sighing as the warm air blew lightly on my chilled cheeks.

How could Sasuke do that? I started to think freely, letting them out without a barricade, not bothering to hold anything back. I let everything flow. How _could_ he? I guess, in a way, I felt betrayed. Cheated out of something that I had truly become to think was mine, in a matter of days of denial. Though, there still was that piece of me arguing that he wasn't mine to begin with, so I couldn't do anything about it. It wasn't my place to jump in. And… he was my enemy.

Shit, Sasuke was _the enemy. _I was weak enough to let myself succumb to him, after those couple days of just a few kisses, a soft touch or two. After he harassed me, I fell to his, for lack of a better word, charm. How could I have allowed myself this humiliation, this shame? I mentally punched myself in the head repeatedly, kicked myself in the ass. My reputation wasn't exactly white, and it wasn't like anyone would ever know about any of this, but I didn't think that I'd be able to look at myself the same after what we did. After what _I'd _done. I brought a lot of it on myself, even though he did start it…

But gods, it was so _good_… The excitement of something brand new, the feel of someone else's body on yours, rubbing, grinding, smooth skin on smooth skin, hot and cold. The heat of a shared moment, a mouth on yours, kissing you with more than what you could take, two people coming together, making something so fucking amazing, something undeniably pleasing. The sensation of ecstasy that followed soon after, the taste of Sasuke in my mouth, on my tongue…

I rid myself of the memory, distancing myself from anything that had to do with Sasuke.

It wasn't my place and he wasn't my property.

You can't let go of something that wasn't yours to begin with.

* * *

FRIDAY

"Naruto…" Shikamaru said, a few lockers down in the boys' changing room.

"Huh?" I said, just having pulled my uniform shirt off and stuffing it into my locker. I noticed that Shikamaru's eyes had shifted downward on my body, as if focusing on my torso. What was he…?

He nodded at my chest. "What happened?" he asked, a hint of worry tinting his voice.

I looked down to where he was looking. There, in the center of my chest, where the bandages were once wrapped not long ago at all, was a huge, circular pink mark. It was fading and would soon be completely gone. It was only a matter of time, I thought. "Oh," I said, thinking of an alibi on the spot, "some klutz freak accident with a frying pan in the kitchen," I said lamely. "You know me." I laughed nervously.

Shikamaru barely smiled. "Ah," was all he said, not looking in the least bit convinced.

I picked up my P.E. shirt to change into, but Kiba was there in an instant to interrupt my changing with his loud, obnoxious voice.

"What about all of the little ones," he asked curiously, "the purple ones?" He came up to me to poke at one of them my side, near my hip. I flinched away at his touch instinctively.

"I fell down the stairs," I said bogusly, knowing that he wouldn't buy it.

He looked over them again for a moment, then scoffed and said, "How lame." He poked at another one, more near my naval, and I swatted his hand away. "What a klutz," he added.

"Yep," I said.

Shikamaru never lost that look of worry, the same look that Soya got sometimes.

The teacher shouted for us to all head out to the track. We filtered out of the locker room and I stationed myself at the very back of the herd, shuffling along lazily, not feeling up to the whole participation thing. As we passed through the gym toward the outside doors, we passed by the towering bleachers that jutted out of the wall. I wondered for a split second why they were extended instead of closed against the wall.

I only had about a second to think about that before I was yanked under them by my wrist, arm almost being pulled out of its socket. A hand clamped over my mouth to muffle my voice until everyone had gone outside and the door slammed loudly, echoing throughout the empty gym. Someone pushed me against the wall behind the bleachers, pinning me there by my shoulders.

"What the fuck!" I cursed, not able to see in the shadow of the bleachers who had pulled me under. "What's your problem?" I asked rhetorically.

"Why did you lie to them?" Sasuke's voice asked me.

My eyes widened in question. What was he talking about? "What?" I said stupidly.

"Why. Did you lie. To them," he said sternly, irritated with having to repeat himself.

I shook my head from side to side violently, blonde hair falling to create a lazy fringe over my eyes. "Who are you talking about?" He sounded crazy. He sounded like he had no idea what he was talking about.

"Shikamaru and Kiba," he said simply.

"About what, the marks?"

He nodded.

"Well, I couldn't tell them the truth, now could I?" I rolled my eyes at him. "I can't just say that I was attacked by Roba and his friends, and one of them happened to put a fiery hole in my chest, now can I? Because then they'll know that I—" I cut myself off before I could get further.

"You're…?" he urged me to finish.

"That I… That I couldn't fight back," I said, be it partially true. "And besides," I changed the subject, "I can't tell them that _Uchiha Sasuke_ did this to me, right?" I scowled at him. "It would ruin your perfectly white reputation, wouldn't it?" I almost got off on the idea of everyone turning on him, of everyone's perception of the perfect Sasuke being tarnished.

"They wouldn't believe you anyway," he said.

"Exactly," I said, proving my point.

He leaned in closer to me and I pushed myself harder into the wall. "Still, you could have just told them the truth," he said quietly. "And even if they didn't think you were joking… They seem as if they'd be perfectly fine with it, no?"

I struggled against his grip. "They would hate it," I said.

He moved even closer. "Hm? Why is that?"

I wriggled as he slowly came closer to me. "They know we hate each other," I said.

"Oh, you hate me?" he said. "That hurts, Uzumaki."

"It's what I do—_fuck! _Stop it!" I yelled as his mouth connected with my neck, licking the flesh there and biting down lightly.

"Why should I?" he said briefly, then continued. His tongue was hot on my skin, leaving tiny trails of wet, then biting down on the flesh there.

I clenched my teeth to keep from saying anything stupid—or making any stupid noises. I pushed my shoulders against his hands but he only equaled my force, and doubled it. There were sure to be light bruises there later. He sucked on my neck for awhile, then pulled away to look me in the eyes.

"Hm," he said, a sound of satisfaction. "You like it."

I refused to look at him. "I do not," I lied.

He only grinned. "Liar." His hands detached themselves from my shoulders and slithered to my gym shorts waistband like lithe snakes. I tried to push him back by his chest, but the force was feeble. He wasn't going to be moved so easily.

"Get off!" I hissed at him.

"Again," he said, narrowing his eyes, "why should I?" His hands snaked under the waistband, tugging at my boxers.

I grabbed his arms, stopping them.

"What?" he said, almost emotionless, save for the intense pride that never seemed to leave, like the colors of an evergreen.

I didn't look him in the eye, as much as he willed it. I didn't _because _he willed it. I wouldn't bend to him so easily. "Don't, Sasuke," I said, implying his first name. It flowed out, instead of the usual Uchiha that I spat at him.

He froze.

"What?" he said again, urging me to look up at him, but I continued to stare at the nonexistent space between us.

I waited a moment, to see if he would continue, but he never did. I thought for a moment, thought of something to say, something to input… "Sasuke," I started, "I…"

He stared, attention lingering, waiting eagerly for what I might have said. The look on his face longed for any words from my mind, even if they were a rejection, a curse. He wanted something out of me.

I chuckled low, shaking my head. "I hate you," I said. I let go of his hands and swung a fist. It connected with his jaw and he stumbled to the side, taken by surprise.

He was immediately transferred onto the offensive and came back at me with a perfect defense, too. He punched me in the gut and as I was about to land a blow to his face, he caught my hand and pulled me. He threw me out from under the bleachers and ran out after me. I ducked as he came by and grabbed a leg, tossing him farther out into the gym. I kicked him in the side and tripped him, then jumped on top of him to punch him some more—wrong move.

The class bursted back in suddenly, teacher first. His whistle rang loud in my ears, startling the shit out of me. My fist froze midair, hovering inches over Sasuke's nose.

"Uzumaki!" shouted the teacher. "Get the hell off him!"

I ignored him and punched Sasuke in the face. He'd stopped fighting back and I grabbed his shirt collar and shook him. "C'mon, asshole!" I growled through my teeth. "Do something!"

"Shikamaru!" the teacher yelled, "Get Naruto off of him, now!"

Shikamaru nodded and ran over to us, Kiba and Shino following close behind. Shikamaru grabbed under my arms and lifted me away rather easily. I attempted to struggle underneath his hands, but my attempts were absolutely useless once he'd even gotten within a few feet of me—did just his presence scare me that much? I knew I was never _scared_ of Shikamaru, much less intimidated, but really; what the hell?

As he pulled me away, our steps in sync despite my trying to kick away, I looked back at Sasuke, who was being helped up by Kiba. His left eye was a bit red and swollen, as well as his jaw, and my ego went up just a bit. As Shino took him off to the nurse's office, I noticed the way he limped slightly when he walked, and all that ego was lost.


	5. Foolish, Delicious Temptations

"For the **FEMALE** of the species is more **DEADLY** than the male."

-**Kipling**, _The Female of the Species

* * *

_"One for, ah… Shit, what's it called again?"

The lady behind the glass rolled her eyes at me. I wondered if she dealt with _idiots like me _on a daily basis. "Which one, sir?" said her voice through the small speaker, obviously holding back a curse or two.

I tilted my head in thought. "I think it was… that one with the ninjas?" I fought back the urge to laugh at the irony and stupidity at the same time.

She jerked a thumb behind her at a backlit movie poster encased in glass. There was a man dressed in all black, face hidden save for his eyes. He was sprinting away from a disastrous fire, and in his arms was a distressed-looking woman. In huge, bold type were the words, _Shadow Love. _I nearly gagged at the cheesiness of it all. "That one?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, that one. One ticket for that, please."

She pressed a few buttons on her computer screen and printed out a ticket. "What, no hot date?"

I laughed lightly. "Actually," I said, "he's waiting for me inside."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "That'll be eight dollars," she said, ignoring my answer to her rhetorical question. She probably thought I was joking. It was too bad that I _was_ joking. I fished a five and a few ones out of my wallet and slid them under the hole in the glass. She ripped out my ticket and slid it under to me. "Enjoy the show," she said monotonously, "no matter how cheesy it is."

"Oh, I will." I continued inside the warm movie theater, escaping from the chill of outside.

As much as I had wanted to stay home (as I had initially intended to) and let things go over how they should, I managed to convince myself that I couldn't just sit on my ass all night. I got my sorry ass up and got out of my cramped apartment, made my way across town to the theater. After getting off of work at two, I kind of lingered around work a bit, having nothing to do but wait to get ready for the movie. Soya didn't mind, but she put me to work—without extra pay. I didn't really mind, I guess. What tipped me, though, is that when I told her I was going to a movie and she went all-out-mom on me, something that I wasn't used to seeing often. _Bundle up, _and _eat before the movie, _and _be careful out there!_ I didn't really mind that either, it was just… rare. But it was nice to have someone like that. It really was.

I made my way to the concession counter and picked up a bucket of popcorn, a soda, and a few candy bars—needless to say, I forgot to heed Soya's words and was totally starving by the time I got there.

The guy working the counter eyed my huge selection curiously and asked, "Meeting someone?"

After paying, I said, "Oh yeah, my hot date." I held back ferocious laughter as I walked away.

Finally, after shifting the food around in my arms awkwardly to hand my ticket to the… ticket dude, I got to the theater and took my seat at the very top. Just my luck (which was something that I never seemed to have), I was one of the very first ones there, so there was no one to sneak past. I sat and ate a little bit of popcorn, waiting for the previews to start.

Finally, the couple of the night walked in. I hunched down in my seat and hid behind my mountain-sized large popcorn, watching the two walk in ever so casually. The girl had her arm looped through the boy's as if they'd been together their whole lives, and she was grinning like crazy, giggling at every little thing he said. He just barely smiled and led the two to the fifth row down, dead center, directly in front of me. As they sat down, the lights dimmed and everyone hushed, and the previews began.

I sat boredly through previews for stupid chick flicks, ridiculous comedies, and horribly serious films, even a documentary. What was the world coming to, I thought? Even the kids' movie preview (which I questioned the motive for it playing before the movie I was in) had several hidden innuendos that no kid would ever catch. I rolled my eyes when I heard an adult say something along the lines of, "My daughter will love that movie!"

Finally, the movie everyone had come to see started, fading into a scene of a woman (specifically speaking, the curvy blonde that was on the poster) sitting on her bed, flipping through the TV. She turned to the side quickly to inspect a fast-moving shadow that had passed her moonlit window, only to find nothing there. Of course. I sighed and plowed into my popcorn, not paying much attention to the actual movie itself. I was more focused on the couple four rows below me.

Sakura watched the movie intently, her eyes never ripping from the scenes of the helpless blonde woman as every time she was about to be in some kind of danger, the masked ninja would swoop in like a superhero and save her. I, myself, was shocked that society made a movie like that, because, to them, the ninja was the enemy. I guess it was one of those "you don't know who the good guy is" movie types. All the while she gaped in jealousy of the blonde's masked savior, Sasuke sipped half-heartedly at his soda. Sakura daringly slid her arm toward Sasuke during a disgustingly touching scene—the blonde (whose name I never did manage to catch) was pulling the ninja's mask off slowly to reveal her hero. Sasuke politely, and inadvertently, scooted a little further away from her. It took all I had not to chuck a candy bar at her. When she tried to again, all I had was pretty much out the window. I chucked a candy bar at her and it snagged her in the head.

"Hey!" she shouted. She turned around quickly, steam practically pouring out of her ears. I hid behind the popcorn. "Who threw that!"

"Shut the hell up!" someone shouted at her angrily. "I'm tryin' to watch a movie here!" Someone else seconded that argument, and she turned around hesitantly, the steam level lowering.

_Damn_, I thought. _That was my last candy bar._

I looked back at the screen as the girl passionately kissed the ninja, whose charming looks weren't hindered even slightly by the scar that went over his left eye. His strange, silvery hair stood up off of his head as if he were electrocuted, and pushed to one side slightly. Is that how Hollywood saw ninjas, I thought? Hell, they could look like anything, really, and they had to make him look like a freaking male model? I scoffed at the corniness and stuffed another handful of popcorn in my mouth as the movie went from PG-13 to something rated R, then something NC-17. Holy shit, I didn't pay to see a freakin porno! And they sold me that ticket? Geez! I fixed my attention elsewhere, only to see Sakura bravely lean toward Sasuke. I waited for him to pull back, but the son of a bitch leaned toward her right back! Before their lips could make contact, and before I could think anything over thoroughly, I threw my huge popcorn at them. It pegged Sakura right in the head. She stood up in her seat and flipped right around right as I ducked behind the chairs of the row in front of me.

"Okay, who the hell keeps throwing stuff at me!" she shouted, causing a total scene. "Huh?"

Someone tossed a box of candy at her. "Sit down and shut up," the said to her.

"Yeah, c'mon!" someone else said, throwing a candy bar at her. "Eat your candy and shut up!"

"It's not like you don't have enough!" another person added. Soon, nearly the whole theater was at her throat, telling her to shut up and watch the movie.

Sasuke put his hand on her elbow lightly, and she responded to his touch by sitting down rapidly in her seat, as if something had forced her down.

The movie ended with a scene of them lying in bed together, the sheets barely providing any censorship for the would-be porn stars. The ninja said something about him always being there to protect her, and she mumbled an agreement. Tough luck, I thought, as another ninja came in suddenly and murdered the blonde in the goriest way possible. Ooh, I could just smell a _Shadow Love 2: Revenge of the Ninja._ How dumb.

People filtered out of the theater, complaining about the ending. I, on the other hand, liked the ending (the murder, not the sex scene). The rest of the movie… Not so much. While everyone left, I hung back, sitting behind the seats of the row in front of me, just in case I was going to be spotted. I waited until I was the last one, and sat watching the credits roll by.

So much for that.

I leaned back in the seat, resting my feet on the one ahead of me. I forgot to pay attention when the character and actor names came up, so I never had any idea what any of the names were. I did happen to catch the filmmaker's name, though, just in case I ever had to rant about his movie-making to anyone: Jiraiya… something. He had to be some kind of major pervert to make a movie like that and say that it was PG-13. Did no one pay attention to ratings anymore? Gah.

* * *

"Gosh, that was such a good movie!" exclaimed Sakura in delight. She was relishing the newfound attention from Sasuke, practically bathing herself in it. She bounced along next to him in a new pair of shoes that she'd bought the day before just for that day. They weren't quite broken-in yet, and she was sure that she'd have slight blisters once she took them off, but she was still happy that she hadn't worn them the day before to break them in, because that stupid klutz Naruto would have ruined them when he dropped her milk. That idiot, she thought. But she wouldn't let the thought of him ruin her night with Sasuke. "I just wish I had a hero like that guy…" She sighed, nearly slipping into a mini-fantasy of Sasuke in an all-black suit, saving her from a gang of thugs like in the movie. "What did you think of it?" she asked Sasuke, awaiting his opinion anxiously. She really, really wanted to know what he thought.

He shrugged. "It was okay," he said plainly, flatly.

Sakura tilted her head. "Okay?" she said. "I thought it was really good…"

"Yeah, not really," he said. "We should have seen something else."

Sakura dropped the topic right away. "So," she said, scavenging for something else to talk about as they left the theater, "what do you want to do now?" She thought for a moment. What did people usually do on dates? She'd never been on one, so she really didn't know what to expect. Wasn't it usually dinner and a movie? Although the movie had come first, so maybe that was it. Or maybe there was dessert? "How about some ice cream?" Of course, that was just like her, to always think of food. She was such a mental fatass, as Ino sometimes said. Even though she never gained any weight, she was still always hungry, always craving food. She cursed the words right as they came out of her mouth.

"Actually," Sasuke stopped in his tracks, Sakura stopping right beside him, wondering what he was about to say. Her attention spiked momentarily. He patted his pockets and sifted through them for a second. "I think I left my wallet in there…" He poked through his pockets again and again came up empty-handed. "I'll just be a moment," he told her. "Can you wait here for me?"

She nodded frantically. "Of course."

Sasuke turned around to head back into the dark theater, leaving Sakura to sit on a nearby bench inside the theater's hall, alone, fingers twisting at the hem of her skirt (something else that she'd bought just for the occasion).

As she sat down, her insides fell, and she knew that she'd blown her only chance with him.

* * *

I yawned as the credits stretched on and on, never seeming to end. They must have put a lot of [useless] work into making the [cruddy] special effects for the [shit-tastic] movie.

"I should have known it was you," someone said from my side. I looked up and saw, even in the dark, the faint outline of Sasuke walking over to me.

I turned abruptly, nearly falling out of my seat, and got up to walk in the opposite direction. "Don't know what you're talking about," I said in a deeper voice. But it was no use. He walked right up to me and caught me by the wrist.

"Don't think you're getting out of this so easily," he said.

I turned to face him. "What!" I said, exasperated. "What did you expect me to do?"

His expression turned smug. "Actually, I expected a lot more out of you. Maybe a leap across the seats, a little catfight with Sakura."

I rolled my eyes at him, something that seemed to be occurring a lot that night. "Is that what you wanted?"

He chuckled. "Not necessarily. But it definitely would have been more entertaining than that movie." I wasn't amused, but he continued. "Everyone in their right mind knows that no ninja is that cheesy."

I tilted my head. "What do _you_ think a ninja is like, then?" I asked him. I was curious now. He sparked my interest at that point, and I wanted to know what he thought. He only shrugged, though. I sighed and tugged my wrist away, but he kept his grip. "Let me go," I told him.

He leaned in close. "Give me one reason why I should." He smirked a little and added, "dobe." My eyes darted around the theater. Wasn't that usually the time when the cleaning crew would come in and pick up all of the mess that movie-goers had left? "If you're wondering why no one's showed up to clean," he said, seeming to read my thoughts, "they're not going to until tomorrow morning. It was the last showing in this particular theater for the night."

"You're kidding me," I said without thinking.

A devious smirk played upon his face as he shoved me into a movie theater chair, one that had gone unused, both of the arm rests still pushed up. He straddled me, pinning his knees to my hips, and pushed me against the thick cushion as he kissed me roughly. I pushed on his shoulders but he grabbed my hands to keep me from struggling. He grinded his hips on mine and I moaned against him.

"Get off me—Uchiha!" I groaned between his kisses.

"Heh, I don't think so."

"Sakura is—mmph!—waiting for you!"

He didn't even hesitate. "Who cares?"

I pushed against him with my hips, but he only pushed back harder, forcing me into the chair more. "What if she—comes in looking for you?"

He grinned again, biting my lip violently before saying, "Let her." He let go of my hands for a moment and tugged at the button on my jeans. "What she sees can't be any worse than the movie, right?" My eyes widened at the thought and he smiled at my reaction.

"Don't—"

"Stop me," he dared.

I didn't dare try. Not even as he unzipped my pants and slid a hand in, kissed me with more passion, and left more marks on my body, I didn't dare try to stop him.

After he was done and I was spent, after the screen had turned off completely, leaving us in almost-darkness, Sasuke fixed me back up. He kissed me on the lips quickly and said in my ear quietly, "Sorry about that," right before leaving briskly and rejoining Sakura.

It took me till a little after he left to realize that he was talking about—well, everything.

* * *

I slouched in my desk, resting my chin on a hand propped on my elbow. Everyone was buzzing around me, as usual, with no idea of the raging storm that was tearing through my head. Sakura plopped in her seat in front of me. I expected her to ignore me completely, since I totally ruined her shoes on Friday with a gallon of milk, but she turned around to look at me with an excited look on her face.

"Hey, Naruto!" she said, practically lighting up the air around her with her 1000-watt smile.

I barely smiled at her. "I take it I'm forgiven?"

She laughed, the bubbly sound engulfing the space around us. "Hey, it was no big deal. I got new shoes that day, anyway." She stuck her foot out to the side to show me. "Aren't they cute?" she asked.

"Do you really expect me to answer that?" I asked, chuckling.

"Well, yeah!"

"I'm a dude. There's no way I'm going to tell you whether your shoes are cute or not," I told her. I looked back down at her shoes again. "But I guess they're pretty—cool."

"Cool?" she said. "Ha ha, okay then."

"So why are you in such a good mood?" I asked her. "I mean… it's Monday. No one should be this happy on a Monday of all days."

"Maybe that's just you," she said. "Besides…" She rested her arms on my desk and interlaced her fingers, setting her chin atop them regally. "I had a fantastic weekend."

As I recalled… unfortunately. I sighed heavily, and she gave me a weird look for it, but I just shook my head. "Why," I said, "what did you do?" The question seemed stupid to me, but to her, it gave her an opening to vent about just how _fantastic _it really was.

"Well, as you know, I went to the movies with Sasuke on Saturday…" Her tone was hushed, so that no one around could hear her, as if it were a secret. I guessed that she didn't want any of the other girls to know, so she wouldn't start an all-out war over the crazily popular boy that everyone obsessed over so much.

"What movie did you guys see?" I asked, pretending to be interested.

"_Shadow Love_. You know, the one about the ninja romance."

I tilted my head. "Huh?" I said. "What movie is that?"

She looked taken aback. "You haven't heard of it?" I shook my head. "It's only the best movie out in theaters right now!" _I take it that you really, really liked that last scene…_ "It's about this woman, and she longs for someone to love her like no one else can." She was looking past me, diving into the depths of a girl's imagination. "She finally found him, but there was this huge problem."

"Hm? What was that?" I asked, keeping up my act.

"He was a ninja."

"Oh, no," I said, resisting the urge to burst out into uncontrollable laughter. "That really sucks."

"Yeah," she said, then continued on about the movie. "Anyway, and they were totally in love, like, this really deep love with each other. But people were always coming to kill the ninja, so it put the woman in danger. But they kept on with each other, knowing that the ninja would always protect her."

I narrowed my eyes. "Is that how it ends?" I asked. "Because that sounds like a load of bull. Like, a really shitty movie."

"No, c'mon!" She laughed lightly and went on. "It ends like, they were together, and stuff…" _Yeah, and "stuff._" "But then this other stupid ninja comes in, and totally kills the girl! And there was blood everywhere! It was so gross!" She shook her head frantically. "Ugh, the ending sucked. But I can't wait for the second one, I really think there's gonna be a second one." She nodded at her own thoughts.

"Ah," I said. I stared at her for a second, wondering what I should say. "Sounds stupid."

"No way! It was so good."

"Whatever, sounds like a stupid chick flick."

"Well there's enough action in it for a dumb guy like you," she said jokingly.

"How about a dumb guy like Uchiha?" I asked.

Her expression fell at my joke. "He didn't like it." She looked down at her hands and twiddled her thumbs around nervously.

"He didn't? Then why did he want to see it?"

She shrugged. "I dunno, but he thought it wasn't all that good. I really liked it, though." I could tell by the look on her face then that she was going into rant-mode. God, I was so ready for this. "And then after he told me that, he forgot his damn wallet in the theater." She rolled her eyes at the stupidity of it all. "So he left me out there to go back and find it. I mean, I don't know why I couldn't just go back in there with him. But I waited out there for like, fifteen minutes! It was ridiculous! I mean, who takes that long to find a god damn wallet?" It was only fifteen minutes? Wow. The look on her face turned angry. "Some guy came by and hit on me, too. Well, kinda. It was kinda creepy, you know. I told him I was on a date, and he just wouldn't leave me alone. But all he did was ask questions about who I was on a date with, what he looked like, what his name was. It was really scary."

"Wait," I said, "some guy hit on you?"

She looked back up at me as if she forgot I was there for a moment. "Kinda," she said again, "it wasn't like he was really hitting on me. He just wanted to know a lot about Sasuke. It was really, really weird." Her expression softened into something else. "Am I not pretty enough to be hit on or something?"

"Oh, don't think like that," I said in an attempt to make her feel better.

"How can I not?" she said, eyes seeming to glisten.

"You're really, really pretty, you know," I said. "If it means anything to you, I think you're the prettiest girl in the school."

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

She smiled a little, then took me by surprise when she shot her arms out and pulled me into a tight hug over my desk. "Thanks, Naruto!" she said.

I hesitantly hugged her back, wrapping my arms around her tiny body. "Uh, sure?" I laughed nervously. "You can, uh, let go now…"

"Oh!" She let go and pulled back to her chair. "Sorry about that."

"No problem."

The bell rang, the nasal sound making everyone scurry back to their desks. Sakura turned around to face the other side of the classroom and everyone got all of their supplies and things out as Iruka sensei walked in.

"Morning, class!" he said with a little more enthusiasm than any regular human being should have on a Monday morning, or any morning at that.

Everyone grumbled in response, but Sakura (being her ever-peppy, straight-A, kiss-ass-student self) told him brightly in response, "Morning, Iruka sensei!" In all honesty, I thought that most of the class envied her outgoing attitude and high grades rather than looking down on her for being such a brown-noser.

"Okay, so with the math unit being covered," Iruka sensei said to the class, "we're going to get into the research unit, meaning lots and lots of essays." The class bursted into a fit of disagreement, but he simply put his hands up and said, "_But…_" Everyone shut up and waited to hear what he had to say. "I've condensed it into only one essay." The class sighed in relief. "It's a partner project, though, so if you want to get technical, only a half of an essay." The atmosphere brightened as everyone searched around the classroom for their partner. Kiba high-fived Shino, already knowing who he was gonna partner with from the get-go. "Don't go looking around for your friends, because I already have your pairs picked out." This time, the frustration was worse than when he'd mentioned essays in the first place. "I tried to keep the pairing as fair as possible. Hey, settle down, everyone, settle down!" Oh, yeah, like that was gonna work. "Or I could just double the length of the essay…" Some people hushed a bit, but others continued to complain. "Or triple…" The class went silent. "Okay, I'll leave it at the regular length." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, mumbling something to himself about how horrible the class was getting to be as the year went in.

Sakura raised her hand high in the air.

"Yes, Ms. Haruno?" Iruka said.

She put her hand down and asked him, "What will the essays be on?"

"Ah, I was just getting to that. Thank you for asking." Sakura smiled smugly. "The topic of the essay will be on the globalization, modernization, and placement of the world." The class groaned in disagreement. "Hey, be happy that I chose that topic and not something else."

"Anything would have been better than that," said Choji from the other side of the room. He slouched in his chair and reached down into his backpack for something after ignoring the rest of the class.

"Well, it's either that or an F," said Iruka, "and I know that a lot of you in here need that grade, so I wouldn't be complaining." No one could really disagree with that, except for the select few who actually tried in that class (COUGH! Sakura, Sasuke, Shikamaru! COUGH!). "With all that being said… Can everyone stand up? Okay, I want you guys to move the desks so they all face the front now." Everyone reluctantly stood up from their desks and turned them as he'd said. "Thanks. Now, everyone move to the back of the room. When I call your and your partner's names, I want you guys to pair up and sit near each other. These will be your seats for the next two weeks." He picked up a piece of paper and as everyone filtered to the back of the classroom, he read out names. "Okay… Sakura and Ino." The two frienemies looked at each other and, with slight hesitation, picked their seats at the front of the classroom. "Choji and Shikamaru. Kiba and Shino. Lee and Neji. Hinata and Tenten." He went on to tell everyone who their partners were, and by the time my name was called, there were only a few people left. Actually… I glanced around. There was only one person left. "Naruto and Sasuke."

"You've gotta be kidding me!" I complained.

"Do I look like I'm kidding." Iruka narrowed his eyes at me and put on his most serious expression ever. "Come on, Naruto. Don't make things difficult. Just take your seat and move along."

I looked over at Sasuke. He'd already sat down in one of the last two seats in the very back of the room. He looked over to me and said, "Don't make this any worse than it has to be, Uzumaki."

Holding my breath to keep from saying anything that would get me sent to the Principal's office, I walked over to the last desk and sat down, setting my things on the desk. I avoided looking at Sasuke again at all costs, but my eyes betrayed me when I found myself paying a few quick glances at him from here to there. A slight nudge and rub of Sasuke's leg on mine, I thought, was supposed to be reassurance, but maybe it was him mocking me. Either way, it was a little awkward, yet strangely comforting.

"Okay," Iruka said, "you have the rest of homeroom period to work with each other a little bit, get situated, and figure out how you're going to get this essay done. Remember, the topic is the modern globalization and placement of the world, and the minimum length should be three pages, front and back, but I urge for you to shoot higher. Don't forget to cite your sources, and for the love of all things holy, don't plagiarize. This is due on the Monday two weeks from now, so that should give you _plenty _of time to get it finished. I don't want any excuses." He sat at his desk and started to grade papers as the class grew more or less lively.

"How are we going to do this?" Sasuke asked, turning to me.

I shrugged without looking at him. "I suck at essays."

"That's probably why he paired us together," he said. I nodded at the perfect sense it made. "What days are you open?" he asked me.

I reviewed my work schedule in my head. "I work everyday except Tuesdays and Sundays, and I get off at two on Saturdays."

Sasuke didn't look pleased. "So you're only open three days a week?"

"Pretty much…" I said. I looked at the way he seemed to be irritated and added, "I can ask for a schedule change, I guess."

"That's perfect." He pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and urged for me to do the same. "I, on the other hand, am available every day." Of course, I thought. Spoiled rotten Sasuke never had to work for anything a day in his life. He didn't have a job because he didn't need one.

"Right," is all I said.

"All of that aside," he said. "I think we should get as much done in class as we can. Because…" He leaned in closer to me, so little that it was almost unnoticeable to anyone else in the class, but I could feel his warm breath on my neck. "We've got other things to do besides schoolwork."

I resisted the temptation to punch him in the face right there.


	6. Pseudo, Shining Attempts

**I just realized... That I've been forgetting to put Author's notes... AND DISCLAIMERS AND WARNINGS /shot/ Uhm, so... Heregoes.  
Thanks for everyone that's been favoriting, adding me to their author alerts/favorite authors, AND ESPECIALLY REVIEWING. TheWrongSide, you're my favorite person right now. I hope you know that, hahaha. It makes me so happy DDD; Those are tears of joy! :D And... it inspires me and motivates me to keep me writing.**

**Warning: This is a little too late, but THIS CONTAINS LEMONS, LIMES, AND LOTS OF SHONEN-AI (BOYS LOVE). If you don't like that, please don't read this.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own these wonderful characters or the original concept, only the AU world I shove them in.**

* * *

"What would life be if we had no **COURAGE** to **ATTEMPT** anything?"

-**Van Gogh**

* * *

**TUESDAY**

"No, you're not getting what I'm saying," Sasuke said harshly. I stopped what I had been scribbling on a piece of paper and looked up at him. His hand was on his forehead, as if annoyed by my idiocy.

"I'm totally getting what you're saying," I told him, "and _I'm _saying that what _you're _saying makes no sense!" I crossed my arms and pouted. He was being such an ass.

He sighed and turned around, fished through his backpack, and pulled out a thick, old-looking book. He set it on the coffee table and pointed to it. "Go through it," he said. "Go through it and tell me what you read." He crossed his arms, too.

I looked over to the old thing sitting on my table, in my living room, wondering what the hell it was doing in _my _house. I read the text going down its huge spine. _The World is Flat- A Brief History of the Globalized World in the 21__st__ Century._ I stared down the book as if its information would somehow float out of it and into my brain just by looking at it. I poked at it, not wanting to open it. I flipped it open with a finger to somewhere around the middle and read what I saw there.

"The triple convergence is not only going to affect how individuals prepare themselves for work, how companies compete, and how countries organize their economics and geopolitics." I grimaced at it and slammed it shut, trying to process what I'd just read. "What does this have to do with the essay?" I asked him, pushing the book further away from me, closer to Sasuke across the coffee table. "And what's triple convergence?" I leaned back against my couch, stretching a leg out to the side, thinking of how terrible an idea it had been to sit here on the floor instead of the kitchen table or something. Then I remembered that I didn't have a kitchen table. Whoops.

He sighed again and rolled his eyes. "It has a lot to do with the essay," he said. "I saw Iruka sensei reading it in class a couple days before he announced the topic, and I went and picked up a copy."

"That thing looks historic," I said. "Are you sure this is _modern?"_

"It was only published in 2005."

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "It looks like a dinosaur!"

"Anyway," he said, keeping me from getting distracted and diverting from the task at hand. "Remember the topic?" He picked up a piece of paper from a pile near him and read off of it. "The rubric says, _the essay has covered the globalization, modernization, and placement of the world in detail and in chronological order._" He set down the paper and said, "I think that includes more than just how we got out of thinking the world was flat, and Copernicus and whatnot."

"Hey," I said, "Copernicus deserves some credit."

"So he found out that the earth isn't at the center of the universe. Pff. He deserves about two sentences in this essay. I think we should focus more on the modernization, since it's played such an important role, especially in the recent years."

"_Uggghhh!" _I groaned and fell back against the couch, letting my head rest on the cushions. "Why did I have to get paired with such a smarty like you?" I asked rhetorically. We both already knew why we were forced to work together. Sasuke was smart and applied himself. I was smart… But I didn't give a rat's ass whether I got an A or an F on the essay, really, and Sasuke was going to "help" me apply myself.

Bull _shit_.

I closed my eyes and just sat there, determined not to do anything more for the essay for the rest of the day. "We have two weeks to do this," I said, ignoring him when he started stacking papers, obviously trying to get me to pay attention. "We don't have to finish it now, you know."

He didn't say anything back, so I took the time to just relax and empty anything that had to do with politics, maps, and business from my head. I detached myself from it, put it out of mind. I started to drift off a little bit, thoughts wandering to the land of food when I felt something plop down right on my lap.

"Get the hell off of me," I mumbled without opening my eyes. When he didn't, I said, "I'm gonna kick your ass, Uchiha."

"You can try," he said, sounding scarily mischievous.

I groaned and pushed up against him, but he wouldn't budge. After a few tries, I gave up and said, "Whatever, I can sleep with you there." I rested my head back again on my hands, keeping my eyes closed, and attempted to nap. Of course, I wouldn't be able to, but it was worth a try.

But a try wasn't worth anything when he pushed me against the couch and kissed me forcefully on the lips. My eyes fluttered open, but his were shut tight. I groaned and tried to push him forward, but he wasn't going anywhere. He ran his tongue along my bottom lip and my mouth automatically opened for him. I cursed at myself mentally for being so weak. One of his hands took a fistful of my hair and the other snaked up the front of my shirt. I shivered under his chilly touch, wondering why the hell he was so cold. He only smirked under the kiss, breaking it for a second to pull my shirt over my head. He rested his hands on my chest and kept kissing me while I kept pushing against him, but there was no room between him and the coffee table. We were basically wedged between it and the couch. Pretty tight, too. I wondered how he'd even managed to sit there in the first place.

Pushing him wasn't doing any help. I grabbed his shoulders and forced him to the side, knocking him over, twisting to put myself on top of him. I pinned my knees to his hips and looked down at his surprised face. Probably wondering how I managed to do that. I held his wrists on the floor above his head and looked down on him.

He grinned a tiny bit. "Feisty, Uzumaki."

"Shut the hell up," I told him.

"What?" he said. "Like you said… We have two weeks to do this."

"I didn't suggest this as an alternative," I said, blowing a strand of hair out of my face.

"You didn't suggest anything," he said, "so I improvised." I made a face at him but he continued. "I thought we could use a distraction, anyway."

"After you were the one all dedicated to getting it done?" I asked. "C'mon."

He sort of shrugged, as much as he could on the floor while he was pinned. His smile lingered on his face and he looked off to the side, not sure what to do then.

I wasn't really sure what to do, either. If I got off of him, he was sure to pin me down again, the damn horndog. If I stayed here, there was nothing _to_ do except keep him pinned. And that was boring.

"Quit making that face," I said.

He looked up at me with wide eyes. "What face?" he asked.

"That face!"

He pretended to look confused. "I'm not making a face," he said, eyes seeming to sparkle. _Freaking_ sparkle.

"Yeah you are!" I said. "You're making, like… a puppy dog face! Cut it out!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Uzumaki," he said. He turned his head to the side again, pouting.

I looked down on him, stared at his pouting lips. I groaned and rolled my eyes at my stupidity. "I hate you," I mumbled before letting go of his hands, taking his face in them, and kissing him. He didn't seem to surprised by it. He had probably been expecting it. I could practically hear his thoughts saying, _he's so predictable._

I forced myself extremely closer to him. _Closer, oh so closer… _My lips were pressed lightly against his, I let my tongue explore every part of his mouth, almost shoving it down his throat in a fight for dominance that he didn't partake in. I wanted to dominate him this time, to control him. It never really bothered me before, but now I was going to step up.

I pulled his shirt off of him hurriedly with sure hands and tossed it somewhere . His hands moved to my jeans to unbutton them, but I smacked them away. He tried again, but I swatted at him again. He groaned and pushed against me, but I only responded with grinding against his hips. He groaned again, but something more out of pleasure this time.

I kissed his neck and nibbled on the flesh there slightly, and he mewled softly, as if wanting more but not wanting to admit it. But that tiny sound was enough for me. I full on bit his neck and he moaned loudly. I moved down his chest and to his stomach, trailing short, wet kisses downward.

My hands traced over the waistline of his jeans, but suddenly, his hands were around my wrists. He pushed me upward and back, and my head landed on the carpet with a thud. He was on top of _me_ now, smirking.

"Let's cut to the chase," he said. I struggled against him, but he held me down by my wrists, straddling my hips. He leaned down to kiss my neck, then bit it just barely. I waited for him to do more, but he never did. He just lingered with his mouth over my skin. He took a breath and held it, then finally said, "I'm hungry."

I waited again, for him to say something stupid and typical like "I'm gonna eat you," or "Hungry for Naruto." But those never came. I guess he wasn't as predictable as I was.

"Can we go get something to eat?" he asked. "I'll buy."

For a minute, I had no idea what to say. Was he serious? He was gonna do all that and then tell me that he was hungry? He had to be kidding, right?

"Sure," I said, expecting him to say he was joking. But he wasn't—he wasn't as predictable as me.

He stood up and grabbed his shirt, tossed mine over to me. I slipped it on reluctantly and stood up, but sat back down on the couch and shoved a pair of shoes on. He grabbed his jacket from where he'd left his backpack and put that on, too, and his shoes.

"You should grab a jacket," he advised. "It's chilly out there."

I shrugged. "Don't need one."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you sure?"

I brushed past him out the front door, grabbing my key from off the coffee table. "Quit sounding like a mom," I mumbled. But I wasn't sure if he'd heard me or not.

* * *

We walked less than a mile down the street to a hole-in-the-wall pizza parlor typically called "Pizza Parlor." It was cheap, but they were crazy delicious. If it weren't for the kitchen being totally in view behind the register, I would have thought that there was something addictive in the dough. For all I know, the flour was something else to wonder about.

We went in, and I escaped from the freezing temperatures of outside. My hands were shivering and my face was numb, but I tried my best to not let Sasuke see. I'd told him that I didn't need a jacket and I'd meant it. Only I had needed one. But what's a little cold, really? I could withstand it.

"You look freezing," he commented, shrugging his sweater off. I shook my head and continued to the register.

"Hey," I said to the cashier. His mustache was looking as full and thick as ever. And curly, might I add. "Two medium drinks and a cheese pizza."

"Size?" the man asked.

I looked over to Sasuke. "What size do you want?"

He looked up at the menu and shrugged. "Whatever's fine."

"Okay then." I looked back at the mustachio man. "I guess a small is good enough," I said, not wanting to rack up the bill when Sasuke was paying. The man pressed a few buttons on the register and told me the price. Sasuke reached into his back pocket and fished out his wallet, paying the man. "Is that the wallet you left in the theater?" I asked him sarcastically.

"Shut up," was all he said. I rolled my eyes and grabbed one of the cups the man had put on the counter.

I walked with Sasuke over to the soda machine, surprised when, instead of dispensing soda, he poured pink lemonade into his cup. I tilted my head at the curious act.

"I never thought you to be the one to drink pink lemonade," I told him, dumping out extra ice from my cup and dispensing some nameless brown cola into it.

He shrugged nonchalantly and whisked past me to grab a lid and straw. "I like it."

Instead of grilling him playfully about stating the obvious, I just smiled and brushed past him lightly to find a table. I spotted a secluded booth meant for four people in the corner and strode over to it, listening to Sasuke's footsteps padding lightly behind me. The sounds of the other customers grew more faint the farther I went back. I sat on the side facing the wall and he came to sit across from me. The backs of the seats towered over the tops of our heads, making it the perfect private spot in a public place.

Sasuke fiddled with the lid on his cup, pressing down the firework-shaped "buttons," one that said "diet," and a second that said "other," even though his drink wasn't diet.

"So," I said, breaking the silence. "Have you ever been to a place like this before?" The stupid question was like a step up from _"Come here often?"_

He took a sip of his pink lemonade and said, "I've never had pizza before."

"…"

I stared at him, mouth probably agape. He looked up from his cup and raised an eyebrow at me.

"What?" he said. I just continued to stare. He waved his hand in front of my face and I snapped.

"You've never had pizza before!" I yelled in disbelief. "What kind of human being are you, never eating pizza? How do you live?"

"Quiet down!" he hissed, kicking me in the shin under the table. "Get a hold of yourself, you idiot!"

I shut up immediately, raising my head to look back in the parlor. No one had been disturbed by my sudden shouting. I sat back down and looked at Sasuke. "Sorry…" I said. "It's just that, it's really, I dunno—"

"Weird?" he finished, cutting me off. He nodded and took another sip of his drink. "Yeah, I know."

"It's not exactly weird," I told him. "More like… Wow, I can't believe you've never had pizza."

He nodded again, looking off somewhere else.

"Well, you're lucky you came with me!" I said. "Because this place is the best, I tell you!" I smiled and took a gulp of my soda. He just nodded again.

He leaned forward, resting his hand on his chin, elbow on the table, his other hand tapping along to the beat of the music that was playing from a radio in the kitchen. I sighed and leaned onto the table. "You don't seem too excited about that," I said.

He shrugged, something he seemed to be doing a lot of today. "It's just food."

"_Just _food?" I said. "That's like saying I'm _just_ living! Because I'm _just_ eating to survive! Eating _food!_ _Just_ food!" I chuckled a little bit at my horrible analogy. "Anywho, I think you're really gonna like it." I had no idea whether he was going to like it or not. I just hoped that he didn't have extravagant taste or something.

"Let's hope so."

I stared at him for a moment, watching as his eyes never left the same spot. He gazed off, looking at nothing in particular. I seized the moment and took his face in my hands, kissing him unexpectedly. I didn't try to shove my tongue in his mouth or anything, just kissed him lightly, then pulled back to lean against the seat.

"What was that?" he asked, surprised. I was a bit surprised myself.

"Don't know what came over me," I told him. This time it was me who fumbled with the lid on my cup, pushing down buttons and turning the straw around.

Sasuke stood up and leaned over the table. He put his hands on my shoulders and kissed me, a sincere, light kiss. He didn't sit back down, just lingered there.

"What was—" but I never got to finish, because he was kissing me again, more passionately. He tangled a hand in my hair and the other squeezed my shoulder. I let go of my cup and tugged on his t-shirt, pulling him closer to me.

"Here's your pizza," someone said, startling us.

Sasuke flung himself back to his seat like a rubber band that had been stretched too far and let go. He knocked over his cup in the process, but quickly picked it back up, making sure that nothing had spilled.

The lady that had brought our pizza over to us eyed us skeptically, having witnessed the scene upon walking up. She hesitantly set the pizza down on the table between us, along with two Styrofoam plates and a crap-load of napkins. "Enjoy," she said blandly, and walked away.

I looked over to Sasuke. His cheeks had a slight pink tint, and I felt my own growing a little hot too, and it wasn't from the heat coming off of the pizza. I cleared my throat to bring him back. He looked up for a second, then back down at the pizza.

"Oh," he said. He grabbed a piece and put it on a plate. Before he could bring it to his mouth, though, I stopped him.

"You don't want to do that," I said flatly.

He stopped before he could bite it. "What?" he said. "Why not?"

I took the other plate and put a piece of pizza on it. "It's gonna be hot as hell."

He rolled his eyes. "Pfff. I can take a little heat." He took a small, tentative bite of the pizza and I watched intently for his reaction. His eyes lit up. He looked down at the piece in his hand. He chewed, swallowed, and took another bite almost immediately, going through the same process until his third or fourth piece.

"I take it you really like it?" I said, laughing lightly. I picked up only my second piece, surprised that he had been eating faster than me, at least twice as fast.

"It's amazing," he said.

I chuckled a little and took a drink of my soda. "Imagine it with pepperoni," I told him. "It's damn good."

"They put pepperoni on this?" he asked.

I gaped at the unbelievable hermit in front of me. "Of course," I said. "It's more common than just cheese, but I figured you'd want something plain."

He finished his last piece. "We're definitely coming here again sometime," he said, wiping the grease off of his hands with a napkin. I nodded in agreement and finished a couple more pieces of pizza. He smiled at me, something I wasn't used to seeing unless it was an evil grin of sorts. "Thanks," he said simply.

I felt my cheeks grow hot again. I scratched the back of my head nervously and looked away from him, afraid that I might give into several temptations to jump him in the parlor. "No problem," I said. "But you paid."

"You're paying next time, then," he said.

* * *

"I'll see you tomorrow, I guess," I said as he readied himself to walk in the opposite direction of my apartment.

"Yeah," he said, hands in his jacket pockets. "You don't work tomorrow, right?"

"Nope."

He nodded. "Then I'll come over again tomorrow."

I grinned at the thought of him being at my house again, then remembered that we actually had to _work._ And with him teasing me constantly, how could I possibly concentrate on an essay? I shook my head to rid myself of the thoughts that started to surface.

"Oh!" I said, remembering something. "Your stuff is back at my place," I told him. "Do you wanna come back and get it?"

He thought for a moment, looking up at the starry night sky. "Nah," he said. "Just bring it to school tomorrow."

"Ah. Okay."

"Try not to forget," he joked.

"Sure," I said. "See ya." I jammed my hands in my pockets and turned around to walk back home, sighing and watching my breath fog out into the air. But after I got about ten feet away, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sasuke asked.

"Uhh, going home?" I said questionably. "Like I'm supposed to? Or are you like thinking deeper or something weird like that?"

"You're forgetting something," he said, a slight smile playing upon his face.

I stared at him curiously for a minute. What was he talking about? "Huh?" I said stupidly.

He leaned down, hands still in his pockets, and kissed me softly on the cheek, his lips warm on my already ice-cold skin. He chuckled quietly at my startled reaction. "Ciao," he said as he walked away.

* * *

**AHHHH. Fluff. Sometimes... fluff makes me feel incomplete. But I think it was nice to end like this. Let me know what you think? ;D **

**Oh, and for the book that's mentioned at the beginning... That's a real book, so I hope I don't get stabbed or anything. It's a pretty damn amazing book, but I feel like suuuchh a neeerrdd when I read it. SUCH A SASKAY. Anyway...**

**Read on, and pleasant days, everyone. **


	7. Tainted, Mutilated Wolf

**Uhh.. [scratches head] So here's Chapter 7! :D I never really know what to put here, so... YEA  
WARNING: Shonen-Ai, "I need a tissue!" moments, and FRUIT.  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these fantastic characters, just the AU I forcefully kick them into. [MWAHAHA]**

* * *

"This is the punishment of a **LIAR**: He is not believed even when he speaks the **TRUTH**."

-**Babylonian Talmud**, _Sanhedrin_

* * *

**WEDNESDAY**

Sakura eyed me with a glint of question in her eyes. She was sitting in her desk, back straight as a board, hands clasped on her desk, one leg over the other. She looked up and down, raised an eyebrow at me and turned around to watch me as I walked over to my seat in the back and sat down. I set my backpack on the floor and another on my desk and she stood up from the front of the room and walked over to me.

I looked up at her and greeted her as usual. "Morning," I said.

She just continued to stare at me with her raised eyebrow. She looked down to the thing at my desk. She nodded toward it and brought her accusing stare back to me, the silent question obvious. I looked down at the second backpack.

"Sasuke's," I said simply.

"I know," she said. Her expression never changed. She _knew? _Like that wasn't a little creepy… "Why do you have it?"

"He left it at my house," I told her. I shoved the backpack over a little bit to make room for my elbows.

"He was at your house?" she asked, eyes widening. She sighed heavily as I nodded and leaned against the desk behind her. "Why did you two have to get paired together and I had to get paired with stupid Ino-pig?" She huffed and looked back to make sure Ino wasn't in the classroom yet. "This sucks," she stated blandly.

"Yeah, I can't really answer that question." I leaned backward and crossed my arms as I caught Sasuke walking into the room, obviously empty-handed. He walked over casually, swiped his things off of my desk and sat down in his next to me without saying a word.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at me again, this time with an intensely jealous scowl. She leaned forward and I turned my head away to avoid her chest hitting me in the face (no matter how small…). She put her mouth right by my ear and said quietly, "Good luck with Sasuke," and walked back to her desk in the front, cheeks turning up into a smirk.

I saw Sasuke look at me from the side and turned to see him. "Hey," I said, feigning composure and pretending to be sickened being near him (though in a way, I was) just as the bell rang. He just nodded and went into his backpack. He rifled through everything, pulling out certain things he needed, but still going through it as class started. He looked back over to me with a distressed look on his face.

"Where's the book?" he half-whispered, because as everyone knows, guys can't whisper correctly.

I put an "I'm sorry" look on my face and said, "I borrowed it… It's at my house."

He rolled his eyes. "I thought you didn't like it," he hissed.

"Well, I read the first few pages," I said, "and it seems pretty good…" There seemed no need to mention that I _hadn't_ read any more of it than what he'd made me read, and that I thought it was the _least _interesting thing in the world. But hey, what was the difference? Now if Sasuke had decided to cancel on me, he couldn't, because I had his book… Great plan, right?

He narrowed his eyes. "You hypocrite."

"Hey! Not!" I was glad that we were in the very back of the classroom, because our shitty whispering surely would've been heard by now.

A small grin played onto his face and he turned back to face forward, looking interested in Iruka's lecture. "I'm gonna punish you," he whispered.

My eyes widened at the thought. _Punish_? That wasn't part of the plan… "What!" I said in something way more than a whisper.

The whole class turned around in their seats and looked right at me. Iruka paused his lecture and turned back to look at me.

"What the hell," Kiba said, trying—and failing—to hide a quiet laugh.

Iruka eyed me with disappointment. "Naruto," he said, "is there something between you and Sasuke that you'd like to share with the class?"

I swallowed and looked over at Sasuke, whose composure I could see through as he hid a smile behind his hand. I looked back at Iruka and said, "Something between me and this idiot?" I jerked my thumb at Sasuke. "Yeah, right. That's hilarious."

Iruka gave me a look that said, _I don't believe you, but it's not worth it to stop the class. _"Then keep your voice down, I'm giving a lecture." He turned back to the board and finished writing a word that he had stopped to get after me for. "Moving on." It took a moment, but everyone else turned back around at intervals. He continued on about something having to do with economics and I tuned him out completely. I looked back over to Sasuke, but he was dutifully taking notes, being the ever-dedicated student. I sighed heavily and leaned back in my desk, crossing my arms.

* * *

"Hey, Naruto," said Shikamaru from a couple lockers down. I finished pulling my gym shirt off and tossed it in my locker. I'd take it home next week, I resolved. My locker was starting to smell.

"Hm?"

"Are you… okay?" he asked hesitantly. The look on his face was truly one of worry, and I started to worry a bit myself. What was he thinking of me then?

I grinned widely, like the goof I always was. "Course!" I told him. "When am I not?"

He shook his head, as if trying to deny that what he was thinking was even true. "You seem so out of it in class all the time, and that mark on your chest—"

I unintentionally interrupted him. "It's getting better, isn't it?" I poked at it harshly. "It doesn't even hurt anymore!" Actually, if I hadn't been healing it little-by-little the past week, it would have been ten times worse, and probably have scarred. But since I had been, it was getting loads better. You almost couldn't see it anymore.

"Yeah," he said. "It really is getting better." He eyed it curiously. "That's odd."

I cocked my head to the side. "How?" I asked.

"Well, it looked for sure it was going to scar a few days ago," he stated. _Well aren't you the observant one…_

I shrugged and pulled my under-shirt over my head. "I dunno, guess not. It was just a burn, anyway."

"With a frying pan, you said?"

"Yeah." I felt bad for lying to him, but could I tell him, or anyone for that matter, that someone had burned a fiery hole in my chest? It just wasn't normal. I mean, I could be a total snitch about it and tell everyone, but what would they say about me? By keeping their secret, I was keeping my own, too.

There was no lying to Shikamaru, though. He could always see through them, as he could see through anything that was false. He was a sharp guy, and by the way he looked at me, I could tell that he was nowhere near believing my frying pan story. But he dropped the matter, leaving it at that, no doubt realizing that it was something that I didn't want to talk about.

"It looks gross," Kiba said, appearing out of nowhere. He jabbed at my clothed chest with his finger. "But not as gross as it did the other day. At least you covered it up."

I took a step back. "Well don't jab at it!"

He grinned goofily. "But it doesn't hurt, right?" he asked.

"Well… no, it doesn't, but—"

"Then it shouldn't be a problem!" he stated matter-of-factly, jabbing at it again. I turned around and ignored him, pulling on my uniform shirt, leaving it unbuttoned for the time being.

I spotted Sasuke on the corner of my eye and kept my eyes cast downward, resisted the urge to turn and look at him immediately as he came into view. He walked by me and said, "Careful, Uzumaki. You'll really end up hurting yourself one day." I attempted to scowl at him, but he winked and whisked off to his locker. I felt my face grow hot and looked away to hurriedly button up my shirt, fumbling with them.

Kiba laughed as he watched me try to button my shirt and said, "Looks like _someone_ is in _love!"_ He laughed again and doubled over on the bench. "With Uchiha Sasuke!" he had to add.

My face grew hot again, this time in something like anger. "I'm not in love with Sasuke!" I argued.

"Oh yeah? Then why are you all red?" he asked.

Wow, shit. He had me on that one. I had no idea what to say to that.

He howled in laughter. "I wonder what your babies are gonna look like!" he joked. "Wait, you can't have babies…" He thought about that statement for a second, then continued on with, "Who's the girl in the relationship, anyway? I bet it's you—"

Shino walked by, his locker being on the other side of the locker room. Kiba stopped his stream of jokes as he was grabbed by the wrist and tugged away. "Leave him alone," Shino told him almost strictly.

"Awww!" Kiba complained, struggling against his grip. "Why do you have to be such a buzzkill sometimes?"

The look on Shino's face was hardly one of hurt, but I could see something else behind it, and as he nearly dragged Kiba away, Kiba's face turned into one of mischief and he stopped struggling, following behind him almost obediently.

I stared after them wonderingly, an eyebrow raised. "What's up with them?" I asked Shikamaru, both out of curiosity and trying to get myself out of the main topic spotlight.

He shrugged and buttoned up his uniform shirt. "No idea." _But it's getting weird,_ he didn't have to say. I could see it written all over his face.

_So much for confiding in Shikamaru_, I thought.

* * *

"Ow! Shit!" I shouted at Sasuke. He clamped his teeth down on my shoulder almost violently, nearly breaking the skin. I clenched my hands into fists and struggled against his, but he had me pinned down good. "Will you cut that out?" I said, hissing as he bit down again, harder this time. "That fucking hurts!"

"Does it?" he said, the grin on his face apparent in the way he spoke. He bit down again even harder and I almost cried out in pain. I could tell he probably broke the skin, and I cringed at the stinging as he ran his tongue along it. "Sorry."

"No you're not," I said almost inaudibly.

"You're right," he said. "I'm not." He moved his mouth to mine and kissed me softly, a sharp contrast to the biting his was inflicting on my shoulder. I could barely taste the iron flavor on his tongue.

"You fucking brute," I said between kisses.

"You bet." He slid his hands down my naked chest, stopping to rub tenderly on a nipple. He took it between two fingers and played it around, and did so to the next one, too, as he kissed me. He clawed a hand down my chest and stomach and I groaned against his lips, but he only smirked, obviously not aware of the serious pain it caused when he went over the burn mark.

I turned my head to the side, breathing heavy, to break the kiss. He responded to it by kissing my neck, licking it, leaving a few more marks there that I would have to make more sad attempts to cover for school and even sadder attempts to cover in P.E. He had no idea how embarrassing it was to go to a store and buy makeup, and how even more embarrassing it was to put it on in the mornings. "What do you get out of this?" I asked him, seriously wondering what sick pleasures he was getting out of hurting me, but at the same time curious about the pleasure I was getting out of it. What was wrong with me?

He pulled up to look down at me, hair dangling in front of his face. "Nothing, really," he said honestly. He smiled a little. "Except… You're so damn cute when you're in pain."

I grimaced at him. "How…?"

He looked away and thought for a moment. "Oh, the faces you make… the sounds you make…"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I told him. He wasn't going to get to me, and he definitely _hadn't_ gotten to me. I wouldn't let him, I wasn't going to let him—

"Kind of like this," he said, and moved downward and brought his mouth to my neck again. His teeth grazed the skin there, tongue swiped it, but then he clamped down on it harshly. I bit down on my lip to keep from making any sounds and closed my eyes as I tried to silence my shouting nerves.

But he wouldn't have it. He moved up, biting down again, but now on my earlobe. He pulled it a little, and I almost gave in there. Yet I kept quiet.

He was determined to win this. He moved to kiss me on the lips, lips brushing mine ever-so-softly. I tried not to kiss him back, but my mouth gave in and I opened my mouth as he slid his tongue in slowly, swiping it over mine. And it was… nice. Just a soft kiss, something that seemed to have meaning…

Just as I was getting into it, his grip on my wrists tightened and he dug his fingernails into the palms of my hands. He bit down on my lip forcefully and tugged back at it, bit it harder and harder until I was pushed into a tiny, pathetic puppy whimper.

He pulled back up to look at me with a smile, grip loosening. One of his thumbs moved while he was holding my wrists down, barely caressing over the throbbing veins. "Hate to say so, but… Told ya so."

I raised an eyebrow at him questionably, opening my eyes to look up at him with anger at losing flaring into my eyes. "What?" I said, sounding like a fool. I ran my tongue over my bottom lip a little, and it stung brightly.

"I said I'd punish you, didn't I?" He smiled almost cutely. If there _was _a cute with Sasuke. Because if there was (apparently) a cute with me, there was one with Sasuke.

"Ugh, you're kidding me!" I said, irritated. "This is all over that stupid book?" I rolled my eyes at him. "You're not really serious about that, are you?"

He just tilted his head to the side. "Oh, I'm serious, all right." He moved back down and kissed my chest, stomach, and below my belly button. He moved his tongue along above the waistband of my jeans and let go of my hands completely to unbutton them fiercely.

I took the opportunity to grab his shoulders and force him off of me onto the carpet next to the couch. I rolled over to land on top of him, jeans unbuttoned and unzipped. He was still fully clothed, and that pissed me off.

"I feel like we've been here before," I said, referring to the position. He scowled up at me and blew a strand of hair out of his face. I smiled sweetly and said, "Now who's gonna get punished?"

The look on his face went from angry to something completely different. As if he'd come up with an idea. "We definitely have been here," he agreed. He then forced upward and knocked me onto my back. He looked down upon me once more with a huge smile on. "And you're still the one getting punished." He grinded his hips on mine harshly and the fabric rubbing between them was growing more and more unpleasant on my hardening cock. I groaned against each rub, and eventually, he started to groan, too, and I could tell it was bothering him as much me. But he didn't stop, just reveled in my reactions. "Don't forget who the stronger one is, Uzumaki," he told me.

He leaned down and kissed my lips softly as he grinded roughly, the two things going against each other. I pushed my head up to kiss him more as he nearly pulled away, and he continued kissing me, as I wanted. The kissed were soft, long, and seemed meaningful once more, as opposed to the dirty grinding he was doing.

His hands fervently pulled my jeans down and off my legs, not an easy task in the small space between the coffee table and the couch. He read my thoughts and hoisted me up by my hips easily and pushed me onto the couch, getting back on top of me again. All my actions up to there had been pointless when we were back where we started. One of his hands cupped my cock through my boxers and started to rub it slightly, barely. I moaned softly against his lips and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer to me selfishly.

He pushed the two of us against the couch cushions, trying to make more room, but there just wasn't enough. The couch wasn't deep enough for both of us to fit. So he wrapped his hands around my waist and picked me up again, shoved everything off of the coffee table in one swipe, and pushed me onto it. I hissed at its cold surface against my skin. He straddled me there, picking up where he'd left off with his rubbing my groin.

"Are you—_nngh_—kidding me?" I said through moans from his rubbing. "The coffee table?"

"Well, the couch wasn't big enough," he stated simply.

"My room's right over there!"

He stopped rubbing and kissed me on the cheek lightly. "No time," he said, sliding my boxers off and tossing them somewhere.

"No time—ahh!" Before I could begin argue with him more, he'd taken me fully into his mouth, bobbing his head up and down quicker than I thought possible. I gripped the edges of the table as he sucked faster and faster. "Ahh, Sasuke…" I held back moans, but that only intensified every other feeling, so I let them out freely. I closed my eyes and he kept going. "Almost… I'm gonna…" I bit my lip and tipped my head back, toes curling. I could feel myself growing closer and closer to release, and he was just… gods, he was _amazing_. I was almost there, getting closer… "_FUCK!_" I exclaimed angrily as he stopped and bit down roughly.

I looked down at him, breathing ragged, as he wiped spit from his mouth. Who the fuck did he think he _was_, biting me there like that…?

I kicked him square in the chest and he flew back onto the carpet near the kitchen tile. I hadn't meant to kick him that hard, but hell, when you were in pain and pretty pissed off, things come out a little bit more than expected.

"What the fuck was that for!" I yelled at him.

He rubbed his chest in pain. "What the hell what _that_ for!" he said right back.

"You bit me!" I shouted at him. I got off the coffee table and searched around for my boxers. I found them on top of the TV and pulled them on quickly. "You fucking bit me!"

"Yeah, I did," he said plainly. He rubbed his chest again. "That hurt…"

"You're telling me that kick hurt? Try getting your fucking dick bit! _Then _tell me that still hurts!" I walked back over to the couch and picked up my pants, shoving them onto my legs. I looked down at my chest, a string of hickies strewn across it, dark purple marks apparent against my white skin. "Shit…" I mumbled. Guess I had to go buy more makeup… Damn, that was an awkward thought.

He scratched the back of his head and stood up. "Sorry," he said.

"No, you're not."

"Yeah, I am," he argued.

"Don't lie," I told him.

"I'm not lying, I really am."

"Sure," I said, turning back around. I sat down on the couch and leaned back against one of the beat-up cushions, ignoring him as he walked over and sat down next to me.

"I _am_ sorry," he said. "I really didn't mean to be harsh like that—"

"Tch." I turned the other way, sick of looking at him. "Tell it to the judge." I leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a bit, neither of us saying a word. The silence was eerie and compelling, and annoying even. I sat quietly and listened as the heater turned on again for the day, the metal groaning in protest before it finally kicked in fully.

Sasuke stood up after an eternity of quiet and started to gather up all of the papers and things he'd scattered when he'd cleared the table. He set all of mine in a neat stack on the table and put his away, then zipped up his backpack, slung it onto his shoulder. He walked over to me and set a hand on my shoulder feather-lightly, leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. I felt my cheeks blush, but I turned back to the wall so he couldn't see and didn't say anything to him as I heard him leave, closing the door behind him.

I listened to his footsteps retreat down the stairs and away from the complex, and finally, I said, "Damn liar… I fucking love you."

* * *

**OKAY! Here's where I take the time to say something very, very important...**

**I have a poll up and running (or at least I should). I NEED THESE OPINIONS. It's about later in the story. Should I include a rape (not telling of who), a death of someone close to Naruto, neither, or both? PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE CONTRIBUTE YOUR VOTE. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. If I don't get any votes... PSH I WON'T WRITE. That's right, I'm threatening you guys! . . . Okay I'm kidding, that would be really mean, but... I would very much like it if you guys took the time to tell me what you think I should write!**

**ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU.**


	8. Chilling, Thrilling Lazarus

**Uhh. Decided to upload something before I leave. -w- I just felt like it. And I'm not getting a lot of feedback, so... [cries] Anyway... On with the story! :D**

* * *

"I have great faith in **FOOLS** - self **CONFIDENCE** my friends call it."  
Edgar Allan Poe

* * *

**SATURDAY**

Days passed, the only words exchanged with Sasuke being the ones that were forced, the "Hellos," and the "How are yous?" and not to mention the "I'll see you on Sunday, to work on the essay."

I hadn't gotten used to the awkward silences that passed between us, the unsaid words that lingered in the air around me. I had always been used to the harsh words, the cruel names, the putdowns, as that was how we always _were. _But things had changed a lot more than anyone had ever expected them to, and everything was different. We could pretend to put each other down, go on as if we hated each other, but the silences were unbearable and uncomfortable for both of us. The last words he said to me on Friday, that he'd see me Sunday, sparked something in me that I didn't want to admit. I had too much pride to say anything to him, to tell him that there was this feeling, these thoughts… that I… really _liked_ him. Enough to say…

I loved him?

The fact that even the thought came out as a question was unpromising and uninspiring. It wasn't enough to just say it, or to admit it to myself, because I still couldn't bring myself to admit it. I kept on thinking, _there's no way, there's no way, no way that I like a guy, my enemy, that we've been together so much and dealing with each other. We haven't been getting along this well, there's no possibility. I haven't kissed him. I haven't touched him. We never touched. I haven't been thinking about him constantly, accidentally skipping meals because I can't stop thinking about him, being late for work because thinking about him is time consuming. There's no way. No way, no way, no way._

But when would I admit it to myself? I was acting on both sides, one saying "Admit it, Kiba was right, you're so in love." The other side was screaming and hollering, "Kiba's an ass! Why are you siding with him?" The horrible cliché of an angel and a devil was starting to surface, but I wasn't sure which side was which.

Tearing through thought after thought, I stared up at the textured ceiling of my apartment blankly, wondering what I was supposed to do. I looked down at my feet sitting on the coffee table a little to the side, the book lying there. I hadn't touched it since Sasuke had been over, and I really didn't want to. The thing bored me to high hell and I didn't want to have anything to do with it.

I sighed, realizing that there really _was_ nothing to do in this boring apartment. I cancelled my TV plan because it was getting too expensive, and cancelled my internet for the same reason. I had a DVD player (it came with the TV when I bought it), but no DVDs. I'd never really brought myself to buy any. I could go to the movies or something, but I'd figured out firsthand how boring that was to do by yourself, and also figured out how much the movies out right now sucked. Soya had shifted my schedule so that instead of ending at 2PM, it ended at 10AM, to give me more time to work on the essay, but I'd completely forgotten until she reminded me that my shift was over, so I was sitting at home with nothing to do. Strangely, she hadn't let me just stay and work more. I actually got an extra hour in before she pushed me out the door, telling me to get my schoolwork done. It was kind of useless, though, when Sasuke had no idea I could work this day, and I didn't have his number or anything, and I had no idea where he lived.

And so, here we are, watching me be a loner in my own house. I was used to that by now, but it wasn't like it ever got any better to be alone.

I sighed again, heavier this time, and leaned back into the cushions. I contemplated making some ramen, but then remembered that I'd just eaten some, and my stomach was surely more than satisfied enough. I patted it happily, the weird aftertaste still lingering on my tongue.

I let myself fall over onto the couch, and as my head hit the cushion softly, an idea came to mind.

_I haven't played my game in awhile, have I?_

* * *

It had been around eleven AM when I'd thought of the idea, so I had hours to wait. I wasn't skilled enough (or stupid enough) to go around during the day playing illegal pranks. I hadn't mastered any form of disguising myself yet, keyword being _yet_. I planned on working on it… eventually. But between work, school, essays, Sasuke…

Jesus, _Sasuke_.

With all of that going on, I wasn't sure how much time I'd have on my hands to practice anything other than the _modernization of the world_, working a register, stocking shelves, and Sasuke, Sasuke, _Sasuke_…

I shook my head to rid myself of the thoughts. Now wasn't the time to be daydreaming about anything, much less things that had to do with Sasuke—

I cursed at myself mentally for failing to clear my head. The cool night air wasn't doing much for me and was seeping through the layers of my coat anyway. I pulled it closer to me and yanked the sleeves down a little bit. It didn't really do much, though. I took a deep breath through my scarf as I tugged my it up higher to cover my nose and tied it tighter in the back. I couldn't risk it falling off, and I wondered why I hadn't invested in something better than a scarf by now. I told myself that I would go shopping for something better soon.

I kicked off the edge of a building to land on the top of another, a couple stories higher. I dashed across several buildings, each higher and higher in stories, occasionally hopping along the tops of poles or skittering through alleys when there weren't enough buildings. Finally, I found myself at the heart of the city, the center of the bright lights and busy streets, zooming cars and buzzing people.

I wasn't much attempting at hiding myself, standing atop the highest building, but this kind of mission wasn't really about stealth anyway. There weren't many lights up here, just a giant pole with a flashing red light atop it, the door that led up here, and a couple air conditioning units. I shoved my hands in the pockets of my coat and stood at the edge, in plain sight of the people down below, at least sixty stories.

A crowd began to form, clogging the traffic that had been walking down the sidewalks. A couple cars stopped and the people got out, but most of them just drove around without a care in the world. _So a guy's on top of that building? Tch, could care less! Gotta get home._ Pretty much. Soon, the hubbub from the crowd could be heard even as high up as I was. People were thrown into hysterics.

"He's gonna jump!" one shouted. Several of them started to pull out cell phones and take videos or pictures. Of course, they were all going to want to show their friends, family, and coworkers their capture of "the crazy guy who jumped off the tallest building in the city and totally killed himself."

Thing is, people liked a good disaster. No one's life was complete without them. If their lives were perfect, they would have nothing to complain about, nothing to stir about. Sure, you say, that would be a great life! But in actuality, people would break down eventually and cause something themselves. Things like this… they were like car crashes. Have you ever noticed that once a car crashes, people flock to the scene like crazy? Their curiosity gets the better of them. They can't resist finding out just what happened. More so when there's more than one car in the crash.

People liked things to talk about. Be it drama, a disaster, or even gossip, they needed something to tell everyone else, something that the other person hadn't seen and they had.

I sighed and pushed my hands deeper into my pockets. It wasn't long until someone came up—

The metal door that led to the roof was forced open roughly and slammed against the door stopper. People stormed out quickly and dispersed, and I counted the sounds of their footsteps. There were three of them, probably all men, and all nearing me, but remaining at a cautious distance.

"Don't move," the one in the center urged. He was a beefy man, but not as beefy as the guy on the left. "We're not here to hurt you."

I chuckled and turned around to face them, hands still in my pockets. "What was that you said about not moving?"

They all had their hands up in a mock-defense. _We come in peace_ ought to have been their first words to me instead of a demand to not move.

"We know what you're doing," the one on the right said. He was scrawny and timid-looking. He looked fairly young. He must have been new on the job, I thought. "And we're here to tell you that your life is worth living."

"How do you know?" I said. Their words were nonsense, and their assumptions were asinine. They couldn't be more far off the mark assuming that I was a suicide jumper. Ha! "You're talking like you know who I am."

"We do," the one on the left lied, "and if you don't get down from there, we _will _use force." His bald head glowed even under the moonlight, I noted with slight humor. Baldies always amused me.

"Ah, you will, will you?" I said. I turned and looked back down at the crowd. The size had multiplied several times, growing and growing. It was like watching bacteria under a microscope. Several police cars had stopped at the bottom, some news cars, along with a few fire trucks, readying those huge trampoline-like things they used to "catch" people. And I thought those were only used in cartoons. Though, it both surprised and amused me how quick this society was to react to a single person on top of a building. I looked back at the three men who had not moved. "They seem like they really want me to jump."

"No one wants you to jump," said the one on the right. His voice shook slightly. He must not have ever had to deal with a "suicidal jumper," or even a "suicidal" person to begin with. He didn't seem like he knew what he was doing. "Please step back from the edge."

"Oh, they do," I told him. "Otherwise I will have wasted their time… Don't you think?" I took a hand out of my pocket and gestured behind me. "This is what they want."

"No one wants this," he said again. "Just come down."

I sighed and looked down at my feet, inches from the edge of the building. I'd never really done this before… At least not on this big of a scale. My heart was racing wildly in my chest, blood rushing from my head to my toes, and I gulped down harshly at what I had planned.

I took my hands out of my pockets and ran one through my messy blonde hair, hoping that it wasn't a dead giveaway by now. But I guess that society wasn't as smart as I thought they were. "Man, you guys have it all wrong," I said simply. I put one hand behind my back, used the other to salute them before letting myself tip backward. They sprinted toward me with outshot hands, but just as one of them grazed my shoe, I was already falling.

The crowd let out a roar of astonishment. _He actually jumped! _I could hear it pouring out of their brains already. I let myself fall, fall, fall, head first toward the pavement, watching the glass and metal rush past me.

But shit, this wasn't a suicide mission! I remembered the whole point of my coming out tonight, and my feet shot out as I rocketed through the air. They skidded and caught the side of the building, and soon, I came to a complete stop. My body was parallel to the ground about twenty stories beneath me, and the crowd roared even louder. Flashes were being sent off, lights were pointed at me, and all eyes were on me. It took a moment, but everyone realized that I most definitely was _not _a suicide jumper, but a ninja. And in their eyes, I was going to kill all of them, their families, and eat their babies.

I hadn't planned on _this _much attention… With an over-excited wave at everyone below, I turned back to look upward and ran along the side of the building, hopped off of it and onto another, then a few more, till I could safely run along the tops.

And the chase had begun.

Sirens were sounding behind me loudly, driving quickly in my direction. I dashed quickly away from them, slowly but surely getting out of the main city and into the less busy parts of town. I glanced behind me and tried to count the cop cars—one, two, three… seven of them. Seven freaking cop cars, chasing after one ninja. Damn, they were slow tonight. Personally, I thought that they would need double, even triple that amount to catch me, but hey, I could be wrong that night. I turned around to hear loud chopping sounds in the air above me, and looked up to see a helicopter with its light focused right on me as I ran faster than the cars could catch.

_You've gotta be kidding me…_

Take back what I said about them being slow. If they already had a chopper mobilized, I was in for a good one. I hopped off a building and into an alley and decided to free-run it that way, on the ground. At least I could easily lose the chopper that way. Eventually, the sirens stopped chasing after me and the police had to drive around, so I could lose them fairly easily, too. Though, when I found cops standing in the alleys with guns pointed and waiting for me, I had to admit that I was taken by a little bit of surprise. Just a little, bit, though. I guess I should have seen it coming.

"We have you surrounded!" the one in front of me shouted. I turned behind me to see another policeman with his gun pointed to me, too. They both looked sure, as if they really _would_ shoot at me.

I rolled my eyes. This was getting to be too much of a drag.

"Put your hands behind your head and get on your knees!" Get on your knees? That was a very provocative statement. Of course, it was just like me to think of that at the worst time and start giggling like a dirty-minded idiot, as the cops stood their with their guns aimed right at me. "Now!" they shouted.

I ignored their orders and weaved but a few signs, and watched as the cops grew confused as hell, looking around frantically.

"You wanna catch me?" I said with the hint of a huge joke lingering behind my words. They continued to stare, their eyes darting this way and that.

"Then catch all of me!" another one of me said. I looked over at him grinning like an imbecile, and felt that I must have been grinning too. I looked over at the rest of them—I kind of went overboard there, making fourteen doppelgangers of me, but hell, I had too much on the line here. They were all mostly like me, in a way, but I was sure to make some things different in case he was caught—i.e., some had different hair color (even though they'd seen my hair before), or eye color (something they could never possibly see in the dark), no whiskers… Especially no whiskers! It definitely took a lot more of my energy to make them that way, but I'd been practicing, and it seemed the way to go. We all nodded toward each other and jumped into the air and onto the roofs of the buildings surrounding, save for the two who stayed down and knocked themselves into the cops and ran away, the cops firing blindly after as if they'd never learned to aim a day in their lives.

I ran along the tops of numerous buildings, with one of my doppelgangers accompanying me close enough for anyone watching to think there was only one of me. The rest had spread out in random directions, some of them pairing up, some of them all alone. I could hear cop cars scatter in different directions, and conveniently enough, none of them followed in my direction. The two of us jumped down into a separate alley and ducked between a row of dumpsters, hugging close to the wall. We sat there and waited for awhile, silent and unmoving.

The sirens began to fade, the cars driving ever farther away. I let out a sigh of relief, as did my doppelganger next to me. I willed the others to keep running away.

One of them disappeared, and the images he'd seen flooded into my mind. He'd run, but not very far. He was cornered into an alleyway somehow, and as he jumped to run up the wall behind him, the cops fired at him immediately. One of them managed to snag his leg, and he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving the police bewildered. As his sights and thoughts came to my mind, so did his injuries. My leg throbbed and blood started to seep through my jeans. My hand flew to it and came back drenched in crimson.

I needed to stop this before anymore of them got hurt; before _I_ got hurt. I looked over to my copy next to me and he looked back, recognizing my pain, having seen the same things I'd seen.

"Go," I told him simply.

He yanked his scarf downward. "What!" he exclaimed loudly. He looked at me (or I looked at myself, rather…), dumbfounded.

"Go!" I told him again, putting more force behind my words.

He shook his head and crossed his arms, throwing his bottom lip up in a pout. Did I look that ridiculous? "I don't wanna!"

I rolled my eyes at him. I may have been that dumb-looking, but was I that difficult, too? "Quit being stubborn!" I demanded. "I don't really wanna go either, you know, being _real _and all!"

"But I'm you," he said bluntly, poking a finger on his chest, "and I definitely don't wanna go." He turned his head away in defiance.

"Ugh," I grunted. I clutched my side as another bullet was fired and another doppelganger disappeared. "You're not the one being turned into Swiss cheese!" I pointed at the new wound angrily.

He sighed heavily. "Fine," he said, admitting defeat. He stood up reluctantly, complained about some unknown substance he'd landed in, and ran off into the street somewhere. I waited for what seemed like hours between a couple dumpsters, ignoring the "unknown substance" that I'd scooted into, while struggling to maintain the doppelgangers.

Before the sun rose, I stood up and steadied myself on the edge of a dumpster, grimacing when my hand landed in something slimy. Another doppelganger disappeared just as I'd begun walking. He must have been reckless, because I collapsed onto the ground, clutching my left knee. Instead of being shot, he'd been stupid and jumped off a huge building, who knows _how_ tall it was, and shattered his—my—kneecap. My legs gave out from underneath me and I crumpled to the ground pathetically. I cursed and sat up to lean against the dumpster I'd fallen in front of.

I ran a hand over my knee to survey the damage. It was completely broken, way beyond healing in any way by itself, and like hell I was going to go to a hospital like this (like I even had the money to pay for it). My hand lingered over it and I closed my eyes and rested my head against the cold metal behind me. I'd already expelled enough chakra on making and maintaining the doppelgangers for so long, and they were so damn far away. Several of them had already disappeared by getting too far to the point where I could no longer control them. If I wanted to walk at all, I'd have to suck it up and little bit and force some of it out.

I focused on my knee and brought my other hand to it, weaving a couple signs and pressing them to it. The ache was so intense as the shattered pieces moved to align and reattach themselves, that I bit down hard on my lip, and that started to bleed. But a small cut wasn't what I was worried about at the moment. I tried to ignore the pain arising all over my leg, but that would bring my focus away from it, so I had to take it in full. I moved from my knee to the side of my leg and winced as the gunshot wound there closed, and from there to my side, that closing, too.

My eyes fluttered a bit, but I refused to give in to the temptation of sleep, out of the risk of being caught, and out of the dying need to _shower_. Slowly but surely, I stood, stumbling out of the alley into the streets with raggedy, dirty clothes like a homeless man. Before anyone could walk or drive by, I took my scarf off from around my neck and wrapped it around my head to cover my hair, and limped all of the miles home, getting there just in time to catch the sunrise behind me.

* * *

I stepped out of the shower, shaking the water out of my hair despite the raging headache I had. The water had rinsed out red and black, then slowly faded to pink and gray, and then clear. Though, it took _hours_ to rinse everything out, and eventually I couldn't stand anymore, and sat under the flow of water. At least I had gotten it all out.

I walked over to my room lazily, ignoring the pile of shredded and bloodied clothes that I left on the bathroom floor and just closing the door behind me. I threw off my towel onto my bedroom floor onto a stack of dirty laundry and filtered through my closet, pulling out a loose t-shirt and jeans. As much as it killed me to wear jeans and as much as I would rather be wearing shorts, or even lounge around the house in my underpants, I remembered vaguely that Sasuke told me he would be coming over today to work on the essay, and I couldn't be prancing around with a semi-healing gunshot wound on my calf for him to see. I sighed and went into the bathroom to rake a comb through my wet hair lazily and groaned when I looked in the mirror to find a cut slashed across my cheek. I hadn't felt it before, and that was one of the hardest to cover up. I settled for sticking a band-aid on it and hoped he wouldn't ask much about it.

The clock on the microwave in the kitchen read 10:06 AM. I'd been out for hours and on top of that showered for hours, but it was still morning. I figured that I was making pretty good time and shrugged.

My stomach gurgled so loudly that I was sure the neighbors heard it, but maybe not, since no one was complaining about it. I rubbed at it and remembered that I was a human being, and in order to function, my body needed nutrients. I fished through my cabinets and pulled out a cup of instant Ramen, filling it with water and sticking it in the microwave for three minutes—a wait that was three minutes too long. Ramen was chock-full of nutrients… right?

A knock sounded from my front door and I walked over in no hurry, already knowing who it was. I simply unlocked the door and walked back over to the microwave to grab my cup out of it and stir it with a fork.

Sasuke let himself in and closed the door behind him. "You can't let me in yourself?" he asked, walking over to sit on my couch. I ignored his question and shoved a forkful of noodles into my mouth so I could have an excuse not to answer him. I walked over and plopped down next to him with the cup in a hand, fork in the other. I smiled over to him with noodles hanging out of my mouth and he shook his head at me disapprovingly. "You're so immature," he said. I just nodded frantically and leaned back against the cushions. He had set his backpack on the floor and was now going through it to pull out essay things, research he'd done, and notes he'd taken. He set it all on the table and looked over at me, waiting for me to finish. I was nearly done, being a fast eater. "I take it you really like those things," he said. I nodded again to him.

"I lahve thersh noordlus!" I said with a mouthful of Ramen.

He blinked a few times and wiped something off of his face, wiping his hand on his pants. "You just spit broth all over me," he said.

"Schorry!" I said, realizing that I'd spit on him again, but he'd seen it coming and put his hands up to defend himself, and wiped them on his pants again. To avoid doing it a third time, I turned the other way and finished quickly, slurping up the broth. I crushed the cup and tossed it in the garbage and dropped the fork in the sink, then walked past Sasuke to my bathroom to brush my teeth quickly. I rejoined Sasuke back on the couch right after. "Sorry about that," I told him.

He shook his head and started to sort through his papers. "It's no problem," he said, already having pulled out a pen and working more things out on paper.

"So have you came up with anything new?" I asked him. He nodded and pulled a piece of paper out of the stack and handed it to me.

"We need to figure out a way to work this into the essay," he told me.

I skimmed through the paragraphs of Sasuke's neat handwriting, trying to determine just what it was even about. I tilted my head and read the last sentence—something about politics—and decided to give up and talk out of my ass. "I guess it can go after the part about propaganda," I said.

He looked at our draft of the essay so far and tried to fit it in there mentally. "That fits perfectly," he said. He scribbled something in the margin and looked over to me with a slight, satisfied smile. I smiled back, thinking it kind of funny that I'd bullshitted that and it made sense.

"Yeah, of course it does," I said to him. "Would I say something that doesn't make any sense? C'mon—" My words were rendered useless when he moved to straddle my hips, pushing me to lie against the armrest of the couch, pinning my wrists there next to my head. I looked up at him with wide eyes, bewildered as to why he would quit working as soon as we started to do this to me. "What?" I said.

His smile had dropped and he looked down at me with a gleam of menace in his eyes. "You think you can trick me like that, Uzumaki?" he asked.

I nodded hesitantly. "Pretty much," I said bluntly. I blew a strand of hair out of my eye and lied my head back against the armrest and put a look on my face that said, _hmph, I can take ya. Do what you want._ But really what I was thinking was, _Get the hell off of me, idiot. My side is throbbing in pain and your knee is digging into it!_ Either way, I sat there as if I couldn't care less.

"I know you're not even paying attention," he said matter-of-factly. "What's getting you?"

"Oh, I don't pay attention to schoolwork, so there automatically has to be something totally wrong with me?" I laughed at his horribly accurate assumption while my side was screaming at me to get him off of me. I rolled my eyes to accentuate my disagreement with him. "Can you get off now?" I asked him. "We need to work on the essay."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Since when did you care so much?" he asked.

"Since I wanted to get it done and over with?" I lied. Why was he getting so into this?

His expression never changed. "Uh-huh," he said, disbelieving.

"Yup." I nodded up at him, shifting against his knee that was now causing me serious pain. "So, can you get off now?" I asked again.

He smirked a tiny bit. "Only if you make me." He leaned down and kissed me lightly on the lips, ran his tongue along the bottom one. Had it been any other day, I probably would have kissed him back, but this time, I hissed as his lips and tongue touched a cut on my bottom lip and drew my head sideways to break the kiss. He pulled back and looked down at me, confused. "What was that?" he asked.

"I have a cut on my lip," I told him truthfully. At least it would keep him from kissing me for the time being. My lip had a slight twinge.

He rolled his eyes at me. "How did you manage to get that?" he asked me.

I shrugged. "I woke up and had it this morning." _More like I didn't sleep at all last night…_ I was exhausted and had never gotten any sleep.

"Woke up?" he said curiously. "You know, come to think of it, you look like you didn't sleep a wink last night." Gods, was I that easy to read! Seriously, people, c'mon!

I blinked a few times. "Huh?" I said stupidly.

"Did you get enough sleep last night?" he asked.

I pretended to think for a minute. "Yep, slept like a baby."

"Did you really?"

"Yep."

He looked down at me with eyes narrowed again. "You're such a natural klutz," he said. "You probably sleepwalked and ran into something."

"I think I'd wake up if I did that," I told him.

"I think you'd wake up if you bit your own lip that hard, too," he said.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you're full of shit," he told me, and leaned back down to kiss me lightly on the lips, obviously trying to avoid the cut as much as he could. He moved to kiss my neck and bit down on the flesh there, sucking hard enough to leave yet another mark. I tried to push against him, but he wouldn't budge.

"Nngh, stop that," I said.

"Make me." He continued biting and sucking on my neck, moved his way to just below my collarbone, and one of his hands let go of one of mine and started to slide up the side of my t-shirt—luckily, on the side that wasn't totally bandaged. My free hand caught his and urged it to move downward. He did so, no matter how reluctantly, and his hand came to a rest at my hip. He left more marks around my neck and collarbone and let go of my other hand, started to move up the other side of my shirt. I couldn't catch his hand fast enough, and he looked down curiously. I pulled his hand away before he could go any further.

"What was that?" he asked, a horribly curious look on his face. He looked as if he knew something, but wouldn't admit it.

"What are you talking about?" I said, looking like a complete idiot, I was sure. "There was nothing there." I gave him a look that said _Don't you believe me?_ and tried to look innocent, obviously failing at it when he insisted on finding out.

He took his hand from my grip and moved to lift up the side of my shirt. He eyed the bandages skeptically and looked at me. "What happened?"

"Geez," I complained, "what is this, twenty questions?"

"What _happened_?" he said again.

I looked at him almost guiltily. I felt obliged to tell him what had happened, but he was really… how should I put this… _devoted _to justice and the like. Or at least he seemed like he would be. Then again, weren't the straight A students usually the ones to look out for, I wondered? Ha, at least in my case they were. Yet, still, there were certain things that I knew I just couldn't tell Sasuke.

"I fell down the stairs going out of the apartment," I lied.

"No you didn't," he said, catching my lie. "Tell me the truth."

"A whole shelf of glass collapsed on me yesterday at work," I said, which was technically a partial truth. Soya was not happy about that one.

The expression on his face looked cold and unforgiving. He pulled my shirt up more to look at the bandage, trying to figure out what lied underneath it. I looked down at it and realized that it was high time they were replaced. The wound, despite having closed before, had reopened, and had started to bleed a little through the white gauze. Sadly, it had only been a few hours.

I thought that Sasuke was going to chew me out. I thought that he was going to yell at me, punch me in the face, and tell me what an idiot I was, then give me a lecture about how I would never amount to anything. But like I've said before, Sasuke wasn't very predictable.

He stood up off the couch and grabbed me by the hand, hoisting me up. Without letting go of my hand, he tugged me over to the bathroom, then grabbed me by the hips and picked me up, set me on the counter easily as if I were a doll. He kneeled to dig through a lower cabinet and pulled out my extensive first-aid kit. (Kit wasn't a very good word to describe it, though. Maybe pack, or even set would seem more appropriate for its size.) He set it on the counter next to me, but didn't stand back up right away. He leaned over to the side more and picked something else up from off the floor and held it up to me.

"What's this?" he asked.

"What are you, my mom?" I said annoyingly, before even paying attention to just what he held in his hand. He shook it at me and I finally looked at it—the raggedy, shredded clothes I was wearing last night. For a moment, I blanked. I had no idea what I was going to say to him then, not even a witty comment appearing. The wheel that spun in my head and usually told me what to say when I didn't know was all blank, all of the spaces erased. I spaced out, stared at the thing in his hand with no words, for the longest time. "Clothes," I finally said.

"Why the hell are they all… ripped and dirty?" he asked, sounding more worried than disgusted or irritated.

I shrugged. Hell if I knew what to say. What would please him? Nothing. He would still be as upset if I gave him an answer, as bogus as it would be, than if I didn't give him anything but a shrug.

He dropped them on the floor and stood up and looked me in the eyes, leaning forward, hands braced on the counter. "You're going to tell me," he stated simply.

With that being said, he opened up the kit and pulled out some cotton squares and a brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide. I could feel its sting before he had even done anything with it. He set them down on the counter and lifted up my shirt again, and I settled for taking it off so I didn't have to hold it up. He didn't seem to mind, he probably thought it was more convenient, too. He charily peeled off the bandage that was covering the wound and barely gasped at its grotesque appearance. It'd really opened a lot more than I thought it had. It was almost as I'd been freshly shot. He continued on as if he knew exactly what it was, but chose to say nothing about it. He tossed it in the bathroom trash can and started to wet a cotton square with hydrogen peroxide.

"I can do this myself, you know—" I started to say, but as I moved my hand to take the square from him, he swatted it away. I let it fall to my side uselessly.

He wiped the square around it, cleaning the blood off. A piece of it barely skimmed over the cut flesh and I hissed at the sting. He didn't pull back though, knowing that it was inevitable, and continued. He cleaned it as well as he could, which was probably better than I could have done. With the first sting of that stuff, there's no doubt that I would have settled for water. He tossed all of the dirtied cotton pieces and pulled out some new bandages, replacing them and covering the hole in my side.

When it was finished and redressed, he looked me right in the eyes. "Any other holes I should know about?"

Guilt consumed me. It filled every part of me with a black sludge that threatened to overspill at any given moment. I nearly gave into telling Sasuke everything, every gruesome little detail about every tiny thing, even the things that didn't matter, but in the end—"No," was all I said.

He shook his head, as if knowing there were more (he probably did) and being disappointed in me. I could almost hear the words in his voice exactly. _I'm disappointed in you, Naruto._

"I'm disappointed in you," he said, repeating my thoughts almost exactly.

I looked up at him confusedly. "Huh?" I said. "For what?"

"For going and being an idiot," he said.

I crossed my arms across my chest. "It's not my fault I'm such a _stupid klutz_…" I muttered. I looked away from him momentarily, finding a _rather interesting _spot on the wall behind him that I just had to look at instead of his face that I could feel reprimanding me with its expressions. I started to find patterns in the textured wall, things like a couple clouds, a bird, a person, when he leaned forward closer to me. He turned my face toward him with one of his hands, the other supporting himself on the counter, and kissed me softly on the side of my lips, carefully avoiding the cut. It was a somewhat short kiss, compared to the others, but far more meaningful than any other had been.

He pulled back and started to pack the things up and repack them into the first-aid kit, and put it back in its place under the sink.

"How did you know where that was, anyway?" I asked him.

"I patched you up last time," he said.

"Ah."

I remembered that time as vividly as I could, and that wasn't very well at all. The most that I'd gotten was a burning sensation in my chest, and a night with Sasuke that even that I couldn't recall very well (for different reasons). Sasuke had taken me home and cleaned up my chest, wrapped it and everything, and watched over me so that I wouldn't roll over and die or something. Which worked out great, if you ask me, until the part where my breath was kind of out of control, scalding my chest with every one.

That aside, I leaned against the mirror behind me lazily. Sasuke offered me a hand to help me off the counter, but I wasn't an old lady or something. I could get off a freaking counter on my own. I leapt down the few inches that separated me and the floor and landed, but stumbled and nearly tripped into the wall. Of course, he was there to catch and steady me before I could crash my head through the wall into the next apartment over. I bent my knees ever so slightly and touched one of them, rubbing it for a moment, and stopped.

Sasuke eyed me suspiciously and asked, "Is there something there, too?"

I shook my head. "Nah," I said. "I'm fine." I started to walk out of the bathroom and back to the living room. I sat on the couch and leaned forward to grab some papers, actually making some sort of effort of _reading_ them this time. Sasuke came to sit next to me and dug through his backpack for something. I looked over at him. "So, do you wanna get this thing done?" I asked him, acting as if nothing had happened, and we were just working on the essay.

He shook his head. "It's already done," he said.

"What?"

"I already wrote the whole essay," he said. "It's at home."

I stared at him, puzzled. So… "You've been coming over here to work on an essay that's already finished?"

He looked up at me and smiled, still searching in his backpack for something. "You're quite the sharp one."

I couldn't help but chuckle and shook my head. "You're…" I looked for the right word to fit there, "ridiculous." I stacked up all the papers and set the void rough draft on top, noticing that in the margin where he'd scribbled a note, it had nothing to do with the paper he'd handed me. Instead, there was only one word, _Naruto, _with a little heard doodled next to it_. _I tried my hardest to fight back the huge smile that had managed to stick itself on my face, but something screamed at me, _RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! _and I let it spread as far as it could as I scooted the papers over to the side of the table.

He finally pulled out what he'd been looking for from his backpack and showed it to me. "I was thinking," he said, "I saw that you have a DVD player, but no movies…" He handed me a stack of DVDs. "I brought a few. Wanna watch one?"

* * *

**Wow. I didn't leave off on a total cliffhanger. I like leaving on cliffhangers (because I'm evil, mwahahahha).  
So Naruto is swiss cheese and SASKAY wants to watch a movie. Aww.**

**Don't forget to contribute your opinion to my poll on my page! _Later in the story, should I include a rape (not saying who of), a death of someone close to Naruto, neither, or both?_ It would really make me happy if you let me know, because it'll help me continue the story! Kudasai & Arigatou! :D**

**Read on, everyone, and pleasant days. And remember, RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! **


	9. Beating, Grinding Hesitation

**Hey everyone! :D Back here with chapter nine. And holy cow. I can't believe I've survived to make it this far in uploading. The farthest my fanfics have gone is up to chapter ten before I lost interest (because all of my files got deleted, sad face...) but I PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE that I won't lose interest in this one! I love this story too much! I won't go back on my word! That's my Shinobi way! [stabs hand] I won't- OW OW OW OW OW OW MY HAND.**

**Anyway... While I clean up all of this blood and whatnot, you can just read on, and BEWAAAAAAAARE THE CRACK PAIRING-NESS THAT IS CALLED A PARTY. That is all. ****[rubs hands together maniacally]**

* * *

"**THINGS** do not change—we **CHANGE**."  
-**Thoreau**, _Walden_

* * *

**STILL SUNDAY**

Out of all of the movies he'd brought—which, might I add, consisted off some kidnapping-based action movie, a sappy chick flick, a romantic comedy, and a mystery—I picked the damn chick flick. "Because I want something to laugh at," was my reason.

"If you want something to laugh at," he said, "wouldn't you pick the comedy?"

I looked over at the case for the romantic comedy again. The guy had the girl on his back and they looked all happy (yet creepily hysteric), but in the background was a jealous looking girl with a crushed can in her hand, and behind her was a football player with his thumbs up. I wondered, _that's supposed to be a comedy? It looks like shit._

I shook my head. "Nah, let's go with the disgusting chick flick." I took the case from him and got up to play the movie and sat back down, closing the blinds behind the couch so there wasn't a glare.

"Remind me again why I brought a chick flick in the first place?" he asked rhetorically, chuckling at the opening scene. A busty blonde girl sat on her porch, picking the petals off of a flower. She looked up to find her lover walking toward her country house, a bouquet of sunflowers in his hand. "Who gives sunflowers?" he said to himself.

"Who gives flowers at all?" I said. We continued watching on as their romance was explained to us in a horribly _girly_ way. At one point, I offered to make popcorn and got up to do so. We chowed down on it as we watched them yell at each other in the rain for some reason that I hadn't really been paying attention to. I had no idea what was going on in the movie because we were too busy making fun of it the whole time. I wasn't really about to find out why they had broken up for half the movie though, because Sasuke had ignored the movie to favor something else.

He turned toward me, and I listened, waiting, anticipating another crack about the horrible acting or something. But instead, he turned my face to look at him and kissed me softly, two fingers holding onto my chin feather-lightly. He ended the kiss and turned back to the movie.

"Thought I'd lighten the mood," he said simply. "This movie sucks."

I chuckled lightly in agreement. "Why do you even have it at your house?" I asked him curiously.

He shrugged. "I think my mom bought it." He thought silently for a few moments, not uttering a word or showing that he was going to continue on, so I turned back to the TV. "Probably. I don't know anyone else in my house that would watch this," he added. I looked back over at him. He stared at the TV blankly, not paying any attention to the movie at all, or even acknowledging that it was playing. Something was going on in his head, and it looked like he was growing more and more distressed just thinking about it. He furrowed his brow in thought, shook his head barely, and reached for more popcorn from the bowl on the table. Before he could bring it to his mouth, though, I intercepted him and kissed him. He seemed taken by surprise for once, as if he forgot I was there, or he just hadn't been expecting that. It seemed to be a little bit of both.

I moved back to lean against the couch cushions and scooted just a bit closer to him, resting my hand on his. He took a hold of it and squeezed lightly, reassuring me that he was okay.

The movie ended with the girl getting ran over—go figure—by her lover's jealous ex girlfriend. It seemed the girls were always dying in the ends of romance movies I've seen lately (which would make a grand total of two). I guess I could have predicted the ending. _Girl gets murdered. Lover seeks revenge. Or cries like a little girl, like the guy in this movie._ Ahh, I would be the world's least favorite critic.

I sighed and got up to take the movie out of the DVD player and return it to Sasuke, but he caught me by the wrist as I was getting up. I turned around to see what he needed. He gave me this look—this… what would I call it? I guess I could say, this smoldering look, something that made his eyes wetter looking as he looked up at me through his lashes. I was rendered speechless by it, and if I could say anything, I was sure it would be stupid and that I would stutter through it anyway. Good thing that he didn't expect me to say anything to it, then, because he tugged me towards him so I fell to sit on his lap. He wrapped his arms around my waist and drew me closer to him, and kissed me with more passion than the quick "lighten the mood" kiss.

We sat there for awhile, just kissing a lot, nothing more. Finally, I groaned against him annoyingly, and he smiled a little.

"What?" he said, then continued to kiss me more.

I drew away from him with hesitation. "The menu music is looping," I said, "and it's driving me insane." He laughed a tiny bit and I finally pulled the movie out of the DVD player, turning it and the TV off. I returned the movie to Sasuke and he put it back in his backpack next to the couch. I sat next to him on the couch and leaned on him. "What now?" I asked. I looked over at a clock hanging somewhere in the kitchen, since I couldn't see the microwave from where I was. I squinted and read the time. "It's about 2 o'clock," I told him. _Damn,_ I thought. Not much time had really passed, but that movie was longer than I thought it was.

He shrugged. "Whatever you wanna do."

I thought for a moment. A few moments. A few _more_ moments. There were things that I really wanted to do, but they weren't very possible at the time. I never told him, though. I shrugged. "I dunno."

"Wanna go get some pizza?" he asked, eyes lighting up with the idea. I'd come to see how much he really liked pizza now, and he was probably going to want it _every_ time he came over.

I smiled at him. "Sure," I said, standing up. I pulled on a pair of shoes as he did, picked up my key.

He started to open the front door, but I quickly pushed it shut as he turned around to question me. I pressed myself against him, on the front door, dropping my key on the carpet, kissed him fervently, something in me not being able to contain it.

"Stay here?" I asked innocently between kisses. My voice sounded different to me, taking on another tone that I wasn't used to.

He never answered me, but eventually groaned in mock annoyance as I took him by his hand to my bedroom. When I looked back at him, he had a little smile on.

I just hoped he wouldn't get mad at me for all of the bandages that I hadn't told him about.

* * *

**MONDAY**

I eyed the slip of paper in my hand curiously. _Six o'clock, _it said. _Don't be late, dumbass._ I narrowed my eyes to see that dumbass had been penned in there manually, aside from the rest that was printed off a computer. _My house,_ I read on. _Just for fun, really._ I looked over at Kiba, who turned around in his seat and made a face at me. That kid was too damn immature for his own good. I guess I had to admit that he could have his mature moments, though. I looked back at the slip of paper he'd given me. _PARTY!_ was in huge, bold letters at the very top. _This Saturday._ I had to think about my schedule for a moment, then remembered that I only work until ten AM that day, but that was so that I could do the essay with Sasuke. I mean, the essay that was already finished.

Yeah.

I looked over at Sasuke to my right, in his desk. He, too, was staring down the invitation. He looked over at me. "Guess we could go," he said, answering my unsaid question. I shrugged.

"Sure," I said. "Sounds like fun."

It didn't really sound like much fun at all, but I figured I'd be able to shove my teenage hormones aside for at least one night. I sat back in my chair and started to wonder about just what kind of party Kiba could throw. At least it was him, and not Shino. The idea of Shino throwing any kind of party or event just threw _me_ off. He didn't seem like a fun guy. Not to say he wasn't nice or anything, he just didn't give off the party vibe that some people did. Drifting off in the middle of homeroom, I thought about all of the people that would be at the party. I'd seen Kiba give invitations to nearly everyone. Of course, Shino was the first one, being his right-hand-man. Shikamaru had been next. He handed one to Hinata, which meant that Neji had to come, too. Lee got one, and he was totally basking in the fact that Sakura was going to be there, and talked endlessly about how he was going to impress her. Kiba didn't forget our friend Choji, and Choji told him he definitely wouldn't miss it—then asked if there would be barbeque. Kiba narrowed his eyes and told him that yes, there would be barbeque. Kiba covered nearly the whole class, and still had some left for people that weren't in homeroom.

What kind of party was he throwing?

* * *

**TUESDAY**

"You know what I was thinking?" I said to Sasuke as we walked out of the big back doors of the school building.

He turned toward me, his hands in his pockets. "Hm?"

I stopped at the corner, where we would start walking in the direction towards my house, where we would work on our finished essay, and leaned against the wall of the school. "We've been going to my house a lot," I told him.

He looked at me curiously. "Yeah," he said. "Why, is that bad?" he asked, hardly worrying about overstaying his welcome. He wasn't one to worry about those matters.

I shook my head. "No, no, it's good," I said, reassuring him (and myself) that it was a really good thing that he came over.

He raised an eyebrow. "Then what's the issue?"

"I was thinking that, you know…" I caught myself about to twiddle my fingers and stopped, attempting to cut to the chase. "That since you're over all the time," I continued, "maybe, just for today… we could go to your house instead?" I asked him.

He didn't even think for a second. "No," he said, and turned to start walking for my house again.

"Why_ nooooot_?" I said, dragging out the word in a whiney-kid voice, following after him.

"Don't want to," he said simply.

I grabbed his arm by the elbow and tugged him toward me. "That's not fair," I said, stopping him. "I wanna see your house." I sounded like a spoiled rotten child who'd just found out that they weren't going to be able to get that toy they wanted for once.

"Nah," he said. He pulled his arm out of my grip and kept on walking. I stayed behind in my wake of rejection, not following him this time. He knew I wasn't following, stopped in his tracks, and without turning around, said, "Will you stop pouting like a little kid and come on?" I crossed my arms across my chest, ignoring him. He sighed and turned around. "Come on," he said, "you look like an idiot when you pout like that."

I rolled my eyes and caught up, socking him in the arm when I walked up next to him.

* * *

**SATURDAY**

I put away the last stack of bills and handful of coins into the register, counting them accurately so that I could leave for my shift for the day. Everything counted down as it should, with a couple bills in the tip jar from a nice elderly couple that seemed to admire me for some reason. Something about "the youth working so hard." I was about to empty the tip jar's amount into the register when Soya came skating by. She braked harshly, jerking forward, and caught herself on the counter in front of me.

"Slow down there, Speed Racer," I said to her, laughing.

She ignored my joke. "Don't do that," she told me.

I looked at her with an eyebrow raised, setting the jar back on the counter. "Don't do what?"

"Put the tips in the register."

"Why not?" I asked. "You always grill me when I forget to." I recalled the past few times that I'd forgotten to do so. The next day, she would reprimand me for it, telling me that it was important to keep it all in one place. Surprisingly, this happens often, because Midori and I get tipped a lot. I guess we were just that charming, or something…? I could see Midori getting a lot of tips, for how pretty and mature she was, but I didn't get why people tipped me.

"Because I want you to take it," she told me. "You earned it."

Puzzled, I just stared at her, emotionless. "You're funny," I told her. I started to empty out what was in there again. I got about halfway through when she stopped me. She grabbed the jar and set it back on the counter roughly, the change inside it rattling around against the glass.

"I'm serious," she said, leaning forward over the counter. Her breath smelled like fresh strawberries, and I knew that it was the bubble gum that she always loved to chew.

I shrugged. "Whatever you say, boss." I grabbed the jar again and continued to empty it into the register.

She gave me a weird look. "What are you doing?"

I smiled at her and made a "scoot over" gesture. She reluctantly slid to the side and I leaned over the counter to grab a few packs of gum from the tiny shelves in front of the counter. I held them up to her. "That should be more than enough to cover these," I told her, ringing them up for the sake of the store having a receipt copy. She just laughed and adjusted her glasses on her face, then pushed off the counter and skated away.

She lifted an arm up to wave without looking back. "Later," she called back to me.

"See ya Monday," I shouted after her.

I locked the register up tight and started towards the back to grab my things. On my way over to the card clock, I spotted Midori walking over to it. Instead of greeting her like any normal human being, I snuck up behind her slowly and silently as she clocked in. Without making a sound, I laid my hands on her shoulders lightly.

"EEEE!" she exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her skin. Her time card flew out of her hands and to the floor and she nearly dropped her bag. She clutched her chest in terror, catching her breath. She saw that it was me and her expression grew less distressed. I laughed hysterically, but at the same time, felt horrible about taking advantage of her skittishness like that. She smiled when she looked at me and said, "Oh, it's you.. Hi, Naruto!"

I grinned widely. "Hey, Midori," I said. I retrieved her time card and handed it to her, where she replaced it in a slot. She fixed the strap of her bag on her arm and turned to look at me. "I didn't know you worked Saturdays," I said.

"I do now," she said. "As of a couple weeks ago, I mean. Soya made new schedules."

"Oh, yeah," I said, recalling her shoving a paper into my hand with the comment, _See you tomorrow._ "She gave me Saturdays, too."

"It's mostly because Koiwai-san quit," she told me, referring to the older man that used to work here until up about a month ago when he quit randomly, telling Soya something around the lines of, _How am I supposed to live off of this?_ Soya didn't really care much, though. The guy was in his upper thirties and freaking out enough already about who knows _what_. We were all pretty glad the guy quit. Soya dismissed it with a shrug and a _See ya._

"Yeah, I've already taken some of that idiot's hours," I said.

"Same with me," she said. She let out a heavy sigh.

Soya skated by slowly, cruising with a small box in her hands. She shifted it into one and tapped her wrist with the other and said, "Time is money, kids," turning to skate backwards and face us as she went away, moving the box from hand to hand. "And you don't wanna end up like Koiwai," she added, having overheard us talking about him.

Midori shuddered in the tiniest bit. "No way," she said.

"Not me," I said.

Soya grinned and, with a small salute, turned to skate off into the aisles with her box, probably to restock the gum or something.

Gods, she was such a little kid. But at the same time… was it safe to say that she felt like a mother?

* * *

_[WRITTEN WHILE LISTENING TO COBRA STARSHIP, KE$HA, AND LADY GAGA! Sets the mood... I highly advise it xD]_

It was my sixth time pounding on the door and about my tenth time ringing the damn doorbell, and still, there was no answer. If it weren't for the pulsing music inside and the sounds of several voices, I would have thought that everyone had left for some reason. Finally, I gave up and leaned against the door with a heavy sigh, deciding to wait for awhile till I would knock again, probably kick the door. I ran a hand through my messy blonde hair, watching my breath fog out into the cold air, the sun just having set about twenty minutes ago. I started to wonder what his house would have been like inside—the outside sure was fucking huge. I heard a low bark from the backyard and someone yelp in surprise. Must have been Kiba's dog, I thought.

A car drove up and stopped at the curb in front of the house, the passenger door opening.

"Yeah, thanks," someone said, starting to step out of the car.

"Wait," said the driver. The person stopped and turned back, the door still hanging open. "Be careful," they said with hesitation. The passenger stared back at them for a few moments, seeming to not be sure of what to say, then nodded slightly.

"Okay," they said, stepping out of the car. With one small wave back, they shut the door and started up toward the front door where I was. The car drove off once they made it to the porch. They came to stand next to me, looked back to make sure that the car was gone, and turned back. "Hey, dobe. Get kicked out?" they asked me, sounding entertained.

I nudged Sasuke over a bit with my hip. "I can't get kicked out if I haven't been let in," I said to him.

"How long have you been standing here?" he asked, the sound of a smile still apparent in his voice.

I thought for a moment and shrugged. "I guess… about ten, fifteen minutes?" The guess seemed about accurate.

He chuckled low. "Sucks for you."

"That it does."

"How much do you wanna bet that I can knock once…" He knocked on the door but one time, a loud, firm knock, but surely not loud enough to be heard over the music. "And they'll let us in?" He looked at me with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yeah ri—"

The door flew open and Kiba stood there in a t-shirt and jeans. "Yo!" he shouted over the music. "It's you two!" He turned back to the party and yelled to everyone, "the lovebirds are here!" Some people turned towards the door and yelled. "And they came together! TOLD YA! You, you, you," he pointed to several people, "hand it over!" The people looked bummed out and walked over, handed him a couple bills each, and walked away. "Yeaaah!" Kiba exclaimed, stuffing the money in his pocket and walked away from the door.

Sasuke looked at me, amused. "They made a bet," he said plainly.

I rolled my eyes again. "Yeah, I know." I brushed past him into the house, the scent of numerous foods—including barbeque—pelting me on the way in. I greeted several people as I walked past them; Choji by the table of food; Shino leaning against a wall with a cup in his hand; Sakura and Ino dancing, and Lee trying to get in; along with some more of my friends and whole lot of people that I had no idea who they were, but they seemed to know me. Sasuke trailed close behind me, getting at least three times more the greetings that I had, a few high fives, and a close hug from Sakura and Ino. I could tell that Lee was making a bet to himself in his head. _If Sakura leaves me for Sasuke, then it's because of my eyebrows…_

We made our way over to the living room, which was a longer trek than you might think. I was right. Kiba's house _was_ fucking huge. It made my apartment look like a cubicle, or even a closet. Finally, we got to the super long, sectional couch that was nearly full. I found a seat at the very end and plopped down, Sasuke sitting on the arm of the couch next to me. I looked up at him with a bored expression, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do.

He leaned down to talk in my ear. If he'd just talked, I definitely wouldn't have heard him. My head was too full of the sound of the music playing throughout ceiling speakers around the house. "I don't know about you," he said, "but I'm gonna go and actually do something. If we stick together this whole time… people are gonna think something's up." He smiled a little and stood up, and was gone in a second. I sighed and leaned back into the cushions. I looked over and Shikamaru was sitting on the couch next to me.

"Oh, hey, Shikamaru," I said, hardly even hearing my own voice.

He turned at the sound of his name and nodded. "Sup," he said boredly. He took a long drink out of his red plastic cup. He looked back at me. "Having fun yet?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Yeah, me either," he said. "Parties just… aren't my thing." He took another drink.

"Where'd you get the drink?" I asked him.

"Huh? This?" he said, holding up the cup. I could barely hear him but I nodded. "Oh," he said. He jerked his head backwards and held his hand with the cup up, pointing somewhere behind him. "Kitchen," he said.

"Thanks," I said, doubting he heard me, and got up to make my way over to the colossal kitchen. I passed a long counter full of delicious-looking food, but passed it all up because I wasn't particularly hungry. I finally found a counter full of several bottles—plastic, mind you—and poured myself a cup of some brown cola. I leaned against the counter and took a swig, eying the party curiously. Most of the people were dancing in the front room, some people sitting on the couches talking about various random things, some crowded in the kitchen. The back door was open and people were filtering in and out. I thought, why not, and detached myself from the counter to go outside.

The music was a bit less loud out there as it was inside, which was a huge relief to my ears and my progressing headache. There were people jumping into the humongous pool, despite the chilly weather (the pool must have been heated), lounging in the Jacuzzi, sitting in chairs all around, or standing around talking. I found a place to sit at a table with some familiar-looking people. Hinata was there, looking unsure of what to do, sitting with Tenten. They were chatting about something, but stopped as soon as I sat down. Hinata blushed intensely.

"Oh, hi, Naruto," she said somewhat quietly.

"Hey," I said with a smile. I watched them sit in silence for a few moments, wondering just what they'd been talking about that they had to stop when I got there. "Gosh, don't have too much fun, you guys," I joked. Hinata giggled a little bit, but Tenten rolled her eyes at my lame joke. I chuckled and scratched the back of my head nervously. "Ahh, I guess… this is fun," I said.

Hinata nodded slightly.

Tenten sighed and sat back in her seat. "I guess," she said.

I leaned back and took a drink of my soda. "Yep," I said. There was an awkward silence between us. "So, uh… You guys can keep talking?" I said. "I mean, you don't have to stop on my account. It makes me feel like I'm being a talked about."

Hinata laughed a little and Tenten narrowed her eyes at her. "Sorry," she said timidly.

Tenten looked at me with her eyes still narrowed. "Don't worry, hotshot," she said. "We weren't talking about you." She looked back at Hinata. "Right?"

"R-right," said Hinata with a slight stutter. Tenten rolled her eyes and leaned farther back in her chair.

Someone ran out of the house excitedly and turned around, signaling to someone inside. The music stopped abruptly and tons of people started to complain loudly. The person just put their hands up defensively, waiting for people to quiet down a bit.

"Put the music back on!" shouted someone from the pool.

"Yeah!" another person agreed. "Turn it back on!" Everyone yelled in protest against the quiet.

"Shut up!" the person yelled. It took a minute, but people stopped. "Anyone who wants," they announced, "they're playing spin the bottle inside, and they need more people."

Everyone looked around at each other curiously, thinking. Most of them decided it wasn't what they wanted and continued on as they were as the music started back up with something more upbeat. A blonde girl with some crazy hair popped out of the pool and wrapped a towel around her, walked over and grabbed a guy's hand, urging him to go with her. Looking pissed, he disagreed, but was taken anyway. Hinata sank in her chair a little. Tenten saw an opportunity and took Hinata's hand.

"C'mon, Hinata," she said, standing up and tugging her along behind her. "This could be fun."

"Ah?" said Hinata confusedly. She looked back at me with pleading eyes.

"I guess I'll come, too?" I said, not wanting to be left alone again. Hinata gave me a small smile, a blush spreading across her cheeks, and continued on. We walked into another huge room downstairs where people were sitting in a small circle. A few more people filtered in and made the circle bigger until there were about fifteen or so people. I sat wedged between Hinata and Shikamaru, who looked like he could care less.

Kiba stood up and yelled, "Spin the bottle! Woo hoo!" Some people in the circle cheered on, but most of them looked like they'd rather not be there. He set an empty soda bottle in the center and sat back down next to Shino. "Okay," he said, clapping his hands. "We're gonna go in order, but… WHO WANTS TO GO FIRST!"

Everyone sat silently, the sound of the music the only thing filling the room. They all looked at each other. Tenten reached around Neji and nudged Hinata slightly, but she refused. Neji looked at Tenten disapprovingly, but she just stuck her tongue out at him. The girl that I'd seen hop out of the pool nudged one of the guys next to her, a different one than the one she'd dragged into the game. He sighed and shook his head, but she poked at him until he gave in.

"I'll go first," he said boredly. He glared at the girl, but she snickered. The other guy next to her shook his head at them and crossed his arms.

"Sweet!" Kiba said.

The guy moved forward to spin the bottle and moved back to wait for it to stop.

"Woo!" the blonde girl cheered. "Go Kankuro!"

He turned to look at her and snapped, "Shuddup, Temari." She snickered at him again.

I leaned toward Shikamaru a little and said, "Do you know them?" I was sure that I'd never seen them at school or even any time in my life. I was sure that I'd remember them… or at least one of them. The one that wasn't Kankuro had a tuft of scruffy red hair and looked like he'd never gotten any sleep in his life… and that if I talked to him, he'd rip me to pieces.

He shrugged. "Beats me," he said. "I think they're from another school somewhere around here." He shrugged again, watching the girl, Temari apparently, cheer on Kankuro. "But that other one," he said, talking about the redhead, "I think I've heard about him."

"And?" I said, prodding information from him.

"I think his name is Gaara, or something. I heard that he beat the hell out of their whole basketball team," he said simply.

Ah, so my guess was right. I made sure to steer clear of him. "Holy shit," was all I said.

The bottle stopped spinning and we all looked to where it pointed.

Tenten stared at the bottle, a slight blush starting to spread across her face. Everyone shouted her name and urged her to go forward. "Me?" she said, pointing at herself. Hinata reached around Neji and poked her lightly, giggling.

"Go! Go! Go!" everyone chanted until her and Kankuro moved to the middle.

"Hey," he said to her casually. "I'm Kankuro."

"Tenten," she said. Kankuro leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips as everyone cheered even more. Shakily, she moved to sit back in her spot. Temari held up her hand to Kankuro for a high five, but he ignored her.

"Next!" said Kiba, urging for Temari to spin the bottle. She did so and it spun quickly, but stopped just as fast. It stopped and everyone looked over at Shikamaru, who had stopped paying attention. He stared at his fingernails carelessly, then looked up when he realized it had gotten quiet. He looked down at the bottle and saw that it was pointed straight at him.

He sighed and sat up. "Whose turn is it?" he asked.

Temari raised her hand and waved it. "Over here," she said. Shikamaru leaned forward to look around Choji and Gaara, the only two people separating them. She scooted forward a little, waiting for him to do the same.

He sighed and moved forward to meet her. Gaara eyed him with something dark. Temari looked back at him and smiled.

"Relax!" she told him. She looked back over to Shikamaru. "Temari," she said to him with a smile.

"Shikamaru," he replied. He was taken by slight surprise when Temari practically tackled him with a kiss, then pulled back. She smiled at him and sat back in her place. Shikamaru shook his head a little bit and came to sit back next to me. I socked him in the arm playfully, but he glared at me.

"Next!" Kiba exclaimed. Gaara simply gave him but one look, and Kiba changed his mind. "Aaaaand, next!" he said, eying Choji. How the damn kid could stand sitting next to Gaara, I had no idea.

Choji set down a bag of chips he'd commandeered from the kitchen and spun the bottle. It stopped to point at Ino. She looked at Choji with wide eyes. Sakura snickered from the other side of Sasuke, and Ino reached around in front and slugged her in the arm. Lee, on the other side of Sakura, asked her if she was okay, while Sasuke ignored them.

"Come here, Choji!" Ino demanded, moving to the middle. He met her there and Ino kissed him with brute force, leaving Choji's head whirling.

"Holy crap, Ino," he said, sitting back in his seat, the chips already in his hands again.

Ino smiled proudly and glared at Sakura, who was nothing short of amused.

Shikamaru sighed. "I guess it's my turn," he said before Kiba could tell him it was. He spun the bottle and it landed coincidentally on Temari. He scratched the back of his head nervously and looked over to her, but hardly had time before Temari was there and kissed him with more force than before.

"It was meant to be!" said Tenten jokingly as they moved back to their spots, each of them with red cheeks.

Kiba clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Ooh, this has gotta be good," he said. He pointed at me dramatically with an evil smile on. "Your turn, biatch!"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You could have done without the _biatch_," I told him. He laughed and ignored me, urging me to spin the bottle. With a sigh I scooted forward. I spun the bottle, making sure that it didn't spin off to the side. My heart started to race and I swallowed down hard. Why was I freaking out? I guess that I just didn't want to get stuck with anyone that I didn't want to, but I looked around the circle, figuring that it was nearly inevitable. It seemed to spin forever, and I just watched it move around and around. It wasn't stopping, and Kiba complained about me spinning it too hard. I ignored him and watched it continue to whirl. Finally, it started to slow, and came to a stop. I refused to look up to see who it was, but figured I knew by the way the whole circle shouted and cheered excitedly, making sounds like "Ooooh!" and, actually, most of them were laughing hysterically. "You're kidding me…" I said to myself. I looked up to see Sasuke sitting there nonchalantly, looking like he could care less.

"C'mon, lovebirds!" Kiba yelled. "Kiss!" Everyone joined in with a chant of "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

I tried my best to look disgusted. "Ugh!" I shouted. "I'm so not kissing that bastard!" I shook my head and scooted back. "Nuh-uh!"

"You have to," said Neji, "the bottle was meant to turn that way." I gave him a weird look, but he just nodded with that serious and intent look on his face.

I looked over at Sasuke, who was sighing and moving to scoot forward. "C'mon, dobe," he said. "As long as we're forced… might as well make it worthwhile."

I felt myself start to blush and attempted to cover my face, but had to scoot forward. "Uggghhhh," I complained. "This is fucking gross. I hate all of you." I looked at Sasuke for a second, and he winked. I rolled my eyes at him.

"The name's Uzumaki Naruto!" I said to him, seeing as it that some of them had introduced themselves to the people they didn't know. Even though Sasuke knew me, along with most of everyone else, I just wanted to say it anyway. "And I don't back down from anything!" _Better said than done, and said so dramatically, too... _"And I don't shy away from kisses, no matter who they're with!" _And still... easier said than done. Much, much easier. _"Especially with a stupid Uchiha like you."

Now he rolled his eyes at me. "Uchiha Sasuke," he said simply, "and I can prove _anyone_ wrong." I blinked once as he leaned down a little to kiss me straight on the lips.

Everyone whooped and hollered loudly as the kiss continued on longer than anyone else's had. They all cheered for us to keep going (the few voices that I didn't hear were Sakura's and Ino's), and I started to squirm under the tension. I felt Sasuke's mouth open just barely and his tongue flick out to lick across my bottom lip, just so that no one would be able to tell. Before I was about to give in and tackle him to the floor right in Kiba's house, I pulled back and wiped my sleeve across my mouth.

"Blegh!" I shouted, scooting back to my place. "Ugh! Barf!"

Sasuke wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve and pretended to gag. "You're telling me," he said.

Sakura and Ino looked at each other with wide eyes, their thoughts mimicking each other's. They looked horribly disgusted and shook their heads, each scooting closer to Sasuke as he sat back in his place.

I stopped paying attention for most of the game after that, too encompassed in Sasuke to pay much of it to anything but him. I kept glancing over at him, and a few times, he was looking right back. Those times, I would blush a little, and drag my knees up, put my arms on them, and bury my face there. It was killing my ego to do it and I felt so damn... _submissive_.

The kisses that came, after Hinata told them to skip her, were Neji's kiss on Hinata's cheek (since he's her brother, you know), Tenten's and Lee's kiss, and Lee skipping his turn since he'd just kissed Tenten anyway (and not wanting to risk kissing anyone but Sakura, already having doubt his luck at having to kiss Tenten).

Soon, it was Sakura's turn. She spun it quickly, and it spun faster than mine had. She held her fists close to her chest, staring at it as if she could get it to land on Sasuke. But as it started to slow and passed him, her eyes widened. She was like me, and refused to look up at who it had landed on.

"Oooooh," everyone said, turning to see where it pointed. We all looked between the guy and Sakura, waiting for her to get a move on.

"Go on, Sakura," said Ino, pride showing in her voice. "Kiss him." She crossed her arms across her chest and leaned against Sasuke.

Temari looked back and forth between Sakura and Gaara. "Are you gonna kiss her?" she asked him curiously.

Gaara sighed and hesitantly scooted forward to the middle to meet Sakura. She stared at him with wide eyes, not knowing what to say. Gaara simply looked at her with emotionless eyes, and said, "Gaara."

She nodded to him. "Sakura."

Gaara sat there, and, after realizing that she wasn't about to do anything, leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the cheek, and moved back to his spot, looking completely unfazed. Sakura sat back next to Lee and Sasuke, looking extremely confused, blushing slightly. I eyed her curiously, wondering what was going through her head. Lee patted her on the shoulder and gave her a smile, and she was more or less back to normal, shooting remarks at Ino.

Sasuke shook his head and told them to skip him. To me, it seemed he just refused to kiss anyone else, but it could have just been a jealous thought.

Ino twirled the bottle around, and as it slowed, creeping closer and closer to her, suddenly, it stopped. Her eyes followed the trail, and she fell silent. It had _almost _made it to Sasuke, but… not quite. It landed on Sakura. They looked at each other, their eyes practically twitching. Ino had been holding her fists to her chest like Sakura, and there they were frozen.

"Kiss her! Kiss her!" everyone started to chant. I actually joined in, surprising myself. Sasuke chuckled and started to chant along, too. He scooted back a little so that they could kiss.

"No way!" Ino shouted. "I'm not kissing her!"

"Yeah, I'm not gonna kiss Ino!" exclaimed Sakura with her face twisted in horror.

Lee tried to reassure her. "You don't really have to," he said. "You can kiss me instead—"

"Nope!" shouted Kiba. "That's against the rules, and it wasn't even her turn! C'mon! Just kiss!"

Ino, looking as if she were about to barf, moved towards Sakura. "Don't kill me, flat-chest," she joked.

"Don't count on it, Ino-pig," Sakura said back.

Ino forced herself forward and kissed Sakura while a good lot of the circle cheered them on. Their kiss lasted awhile, and neither one of them pulled back, probably waiting for the other to, just so they could say that they held out and have yet another reason to make fun of the other. After a bit, they started to fight for dominance, or something. Ino pushed, then Sakura, then Ino again. Finally, Sakura forced Ino backwards onto the floor, their lips never losing contact. She pinned her there, then pulled back.

"Aha!" she exclaimed, basking in her victory—until Ino pushed upward and knocked her so that she was on top of her, and kissed her harder. I wondered if she'd learned the move from Sasuke, then realized that that wasn't really possible. Sakura, not fit with losing to Ino, kissed her back fiercer, and in turn, Ino opened her mouth. Everyone watched in silence as they started to make out ferociously, neither of them fit with the other dominating them. No one said anything, really, or tried to stop them, just kind of watched with blank minds. Except for Lee, who looked like he was about to die. Choji had dropped his chips and Kiba's jaw was dropped.

"Holy shit," said Kiba.

That snapped them out of it. They both broke off immediately, Ino jumping off of Sakura as if she'd been lit on fire. They made a face at each other and ignored each other for the rest of the party.

"Oooookay…" said Kiba. "Anyway…" He looked at Shino next to him. "It's your turn, Shino," he said, trying to continue on and break the awkwardness.

Shino put his hands up. "I'll pass," he said.

Kiba looked at him curiously. "Okay, then," he said. "I guess I'll go!" Everyone, having gotten over the scene, cheered him on as he spun the bottle. It started to slow as it made its way back over to Kiba once more, then stopped just short of him. His eyes widened and he sat back down and crossed his arms. "No way!" he said, a blush starting to spread across his face. "Nuh-uh!"

"Hey!" I yelled at him. "You made me and Sasuke kiss—" _which I loved,_ "and Sakura and Ino kiss—" _which I'm sure everyone else loved. _"You can't pass up on your turn! And it's your party, you ass!"

Everyone agreed, going against him, telling him to go through with it.

Shino touched his elbow lightly. "It's no big deal," he said, pulling down the high collar of his jacket, "really."

Kiba's blush intensified, leading me to believe, again, that there was something else that I'd been missing. He just nodded and, without saying anything more, kissed the other boy lightly, moving a little closer to Shino than he'd needed to.

Everyone stared in shock as Kiba's face turned beet red.

"Let's play another game," he said simply.

* * *

**Oh yeaaaah. Kiba's party. Sorry the spin-the-bottle section is so choppy, but there's not much to say between dialogue_. _You know, besides... _I could hear the crunching of Choji's chewing on his damn chips over the sound of the music._ Hahahaha. Anywho, the next chapter will contain the rest of the party.**

**And awwwh. ShinoxKiba. My other favorite pairing! :D**

**Read on everyone, and pleasant days.**


	10. Gutting, Twining Interruptions

**Woot woot! The party continues~! NNS NNS NNS. There's a link on my page to the spin the bottle seating (just in case you're confused as to who is sitting where). Sorry I didn't put this in the last chapter xD Anyway, enjoy~**

**Warning: Sorry to spoil it for anyone, but there's a lemon here. Yep. Nns nns nns. OH! And implied shojo-ai. IMPLIED, I just don't like it -.-**

* * *

"He who has a thousand **FRIENDS** has not a friend to spare. He who has one **ENEMY** shall meet him everywhere."  
-**Emerson**, _Conduct of Life_

* * *

I sighed heavily and let myself fall back on the floor, staring up at Kiba's ceiling. I could feel the bass of the loud music beating on the floors and thumping in my ears. "Whose dumb idea was it to play Truth or Dare?" I complained loudly, throwing my hands above my head. By this time,

"Quit being a poor sport!" Sakura said to me. I looked up and narrowed my eyes at her. "And be quiet, it's my turn anyway." She looked around the circle for a victim. She looked to Sasuke, but quickly looked away. I wondered why she didn't just dare him to kiss her or something. Then again, he would have to pick dare. When she couldn't decide on anyone, she said, "Naruto, truth or dare?"

I propped myself up on my elbows and looked over to her. "Ahh…" I thought for a moment. "Dare, I guess."

She threw her head back and groaned in annoyance. "Uggghh!" she said. "Why couldn't you have picked truth? I suck at coming up with dares!"

"Uhhh?" I said confusedly. I sat up and stretched my legs out in front of me. "I can change it to truth if you want?" I offered, trying to pull her out of a fit.

"Against the rules!" shouted Kiba, pointing his finger dramatically at me from across the circle. He nearly snarled when he demanded, "Dare, now!"

_ Screw the rules, _I wanted to tell him. I looked back over to Sakura, but she still hadn't thought of anything.

"Help me out with this," she said to Ino. They leaned around Sasuke and whispered back in forth to each other. A couple shaking of the heads, and a couple nods, and they turned back to face the circle again. "Take your shirt off, Naruto!" she demanded, holding back laughs, and Ino as well.

I looked at her curiously. "What?" I said.

"You heard me!" she said, giggling and crossing her arms. "Take it off! And leave it off for the next three rounds."

I stared at her for a moment. It was really no big deal, but the fact that Sakura was daring me to take my shirt off was a bit strange. I was glad that my wounds had fully healed by then and pulled my shirt over my head. I turned to my left and plopped it on Hinata's lap with a cheeky grin. "Hold onto it for me, Hinata," I said to her. She blushed intensely and set the shirt in front of her embarrassedly. Neji leaned forward and narrowed his eyes at me, glaring. I smiled nervously and turned back the other way.

"Your turn," Sakura said to me.

I glanced around the circle, trying to pick someone out. I could be an asshole and tell Sakura to do something embarrassing, but I couldn't really think of anything interesting.

An idea sprung into my mind. I couldn't make Sakura do anything embarrassing, but maybe someone else… "Sa—"

"This is booooring," Kiba complained, interrupting me. He leaned forward and tapped his fingertips together evilly with a grin plastered on his face. "Time for…" He chuckled. "Seven Minutes in Heaven." He jumped up off the floor and ran off to grab something.

"Well, that lasted long," said Shikamaru uncaringly with a sigh. I looked over at him and, sure enough, he looked as bored as he always did.

Sakura and Ino looked at each other with expectant glances that after a moment were struck with the realization of competition, and turned away from the other, but never stopped looking at Sasuke, the bane of their rivalry. Temari was grinning and knocking Gaara in the arm a bit, while Kankuro sat a bit boredly, but still up for some games. Gaara didn't look fazed at all, lacking any emotion toward the idea. Lee eyed Sakura with excitement, probably telling himself that if they didn't get paired, that he wasn't worth her time or something like that. Hinata snuck a careful glance out of the corner of her eye at me, twiddling her fingers together. She reached forward and grabbed my shirt off the floor in front of her and handed it to me.

"Here," she said timidly. I took it from her still hands and slipped it on.

"Thanks," I told her. She smiled a little, blushed, and looked away.

"Okay!" announced Kiba, returning to the room with a piece of paper and a bunch of pens. "This is how it's going to work." Everyone stood up and he started to rip the paper into little sections and gave a piece and a pen to everyone, but tossed mine to me uncaringly, chuckling.

"Asshole," I called him.

He simply laughed and moved on. "Write your name on the piece of paper and put it in this hat." He tossed down a baseball cap onto the floor. Everyone did so, including Kiba, and waited for him to tell us the rest. "Guess I'll decide who goes first…" He looked around at everyone for a minute, wondering which would be the funniest, probably. Of course, as my dumb luck would have it, his eyes stopped right at me and lit up with an idea. I crossed my arms and made a face, and that decided it for him. "It would be funny to see you go first," he said to me, flashing his teeth. "Maybe… Yeah, let's see you go first, biatch!"

"Will you quit calling me that! I said to him. I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair, tousling it around messily. I went over to him with the extended ball cap and without looking, retrieved a slip of paper, hoping to whatever holy deity that it wasn't Gaara, because there was some part of him that I wanted to challenge, though I knew that I shouldn't mess with. As if reading my mind, he narrowed his eyes at me. He turned to Temari and said something, and left the room quietly.

Why couldn't I have just been like him, I wondered? Why the hell didn't I just leave the room and go back to the party? Oh, that's right. I was here to watch over Sasuke, apparently. That, and I really didn't have any other friends out there. The rest of the crowd was just a blur of random faces that maybe I've seen around the school once or twice.

I pulled the piece of paper out and unfolded it carefully, looking at its insides charily.

I raised an eyebrow at the neat name written on the inside in almost curly lettering: _Hinata._ I refused the urge to turn my attention over to her right away. I sighed a bit, and thought, _What am I doing…_ I crumpled the slip of paper in my hand.

"Well?" Kiba asked. "Whose was it?"

Everyone looked at me expectantly, the dim lights of the particular room in Kiba's house barely reflecting in their wide, curious eyes. They all waited for me to tell them who I'd picked. But there was something keeping me from telling them, something urging me to _lie_…

I turned to look at Sasuke. "Let's go, Pretty Boy," I said to him. I shoved the crumpled piece of paper in my pocket. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at me wonderingly. His expression said, _What are you planning…?_

"_Oooooh!_" Kiba cooed at us. "Lovebirds again! I wonder what's gonna happen!" He laughed obnoxiously, along with a few others. Shino tapped his arm lightly and he stopped and cleared his throat. He pointed at a hallway that led even farther away from the pulsing party. "Third door on your left," he said. "And don't get the closet dirty." He winked awkwardly and waved his fingers. "Sweet seven minutes," he said, fishing into his pocket for his cell phone, probably to use the timer.

"Ciao," Sasuke said to Kiba, taking me by my hand and almost dragging me toward the closet. I gave him a skeptical look for being so quick to leave, and by taking my hand so suddenly in front of everyone. I turned around just before being shoved into the closet to see Sakura's eyes widen in realization. Sasuke shut the door behind him and turned to face me, but I was looking into the closet.

It was smaller than I imagined a closet would be in Kiba's huge house, but just enough for Sasuke and I to sit down on the carpeted floor and lean against the back wall. It was completely empty—no shelves, no bar, no boxes, nothing—making me think that Kiba had emptied it out just for this occasion.

I sat down and waited for Sasuke to do, so, too, but he just stood there, looking down at me.

"Well?" I said to him. "Are you gonna sit, or what? I mean, we've got seven minutes in here." I stretched my legs forward as far as I could before hitting the door.

Sasuke said something in a low voice, but I hadn't heard him quite well.

"Huh?" I said, sounding stupid.

"That's not enough time," he repeated. I couldn't see his face in the dark of the closet, the only ink splotch of light being the yellowish light filtering in from the tiny crack beneath the closet door.

I looked at him, wondering if he could see me. "For what?"

But he never gave me an answer. He was sitting on my lap, straggling my hips before I could say anything more. His hands were on my shoulders, pushing me against the wall, his lips on mine, tongue running along my bottom lip. I kissed him back with such heat that I wasn't sure what had gotten into me.

"I couldn't take it," he said quietly between kisses.

"Neither could I," I told him, just as quietly, so that no one outside could hear.

He pressed himself against me, pushing me onto the wall even harder. His feet were pushing against the closet door, and it moved just so it sounded against the door frame. I wondered if anyone was questioning us by now. Knowing them, they were sitting by the door, giggling like little girls.

I felt him grin against my lips and moved to the side to break the kiss. Instead of stopping, though, he just moved his mouth to my neck and started to suck there lightly, enough to leave a mark that I was going to have a fun time explaining to everyone. I would probably lie like an idiot and say that we were fighting or something, even though it was hardly believable.

"Wanna freak them out?" he asked.

My eyes widened at the thought. "Nngh.." I bit my lip to hold back the low moans. "No, I don't," I told him, trying to keep my voice down. He shifted and moved his knee to press to my groin, moving it to the sides. I bit my lip even harder and clutched the back of Sasuke's shirt.

But Sasuke wasn't having any of my disagreeing. He pressed even harder with his knee and clamped his teeth down on a certain part of my neck, causing me to cry out just barely. "Ah!" I instantly regretted having been too weak to hold back something so feeble, such a tiny animal noise that they would have surely heard outside the closet. "You bastard..." I pulled on the back of his shirt to try to pull him off, but the attempt was pathetic and didn't work at all. He continued to press his knee harder and move it around, and finally moved it and used a hand instead, massaging me, rubbing me through the cloth.

I cursed under my breath as I felt myself starting to get hard under his touch. "_Stop!" _I tried to tell him, but there was no was in hell he was listening to what I was saying. Every time I made a noise or didn't make a noise, he would intensify everything. His other hand moved to pull up on my shirt.

"Liked it better when it was off," he said, pulling it off of me and tossing it aside in the small closet space. He raked a hand downward on my chest and stomach, then his nails were replaced by his mouth, kissing and licking all over. I was sure that my bitten lip was about to come off. His hand moved from outside my pants to inside, kneading against my hardening cock. I moaned slightly, making sure no one outside could hear, though I wasn't very aware of anything out there anymore.

"What if they—_mmm —_come in here?" I asked him, working on steadying my breathing.

He kissed me on the lips for a moment, then pulled back and without stopping his hand, said so plainly, "They won't."

My eyes were just barely slits, fighting the urge to close and give in completely, but if I could, I would have narrowed my eyes at him. Instead, I let out a tiny whimpering sound as he rubbed up and down my cock. "F-fuh… They're going to eventually…" _Soon, actually. Very soon._

He shook his head and chuckled lowly, kissing me on the neck again. "They left," he stated.

"Left?" I breathed.

He kissed me on the cheek lightly. "Mhmm." He looked behind him for a second, at the gap between the door and the floor. The lights closest to us from the room we were in were off, the yellowish glow gone, and the only faint one being from the living room and others that people were in. "Probably got bored." He shrugged. "Or thought it was funny."

I answered his thoughts with a small moan, now assured that I could be a bit louder than before.

Suddenly, he pulled his hand away and picked up my shirt, pushing it at my chest. "Let's go," he said, standing up abruptly. He opened the closet door, causing me to automatically shift into a position that hid my erection. He chuckled at me and pulled me up by the wrist, dragging me across the hallway.

I looked behind me at the fading lights and sounds from the party. "Where are you…?" I started to ask, but it was answered when he pulled me into a room, closed and locked the door behind him. He pushed me against the nearest object, which happened to be a desk. I fell backward onto it, scattering various papers. He pushed himself on top of me and kissed me with such _want_ that it made my head spin. After causing enough disaster to the papers that had been on the desk, he pulled me up by my shoulders and started pulling me somewhere else in the room, but stopped short of his destination and pushed me against a wall, where a bulletin board had been hanging—until we knocked it down, its contents scattering, too. He tugged on me again, a little farther, this time hitting a nightstand. I landed to sit on it, knocking over a picture frame of some kind, and he grinded his hips against mine roughly. With quick hands, he unbuttoned and unzipped my pants, yanking them down to my ankles. I kicked them off somewhere in the dark room.

He pushed me just a bit further and I landed on a large bed, to whom it belonged to I had no idea. He straddled me again, kissing my neck, chest, hips, leaving countless marks. He stopped short of the place where my gunshot wound had been, the one that he'd helped patch up but six days ago, no doubt wondering what the hell had happened to it, but passed over it and continued kissing, rubbing a hand against my dick through my boxers. With shaky hands, I slid them under his shirt, pulling it over his head forcefully and threw it somewhere in the room. I heard it land on top of something and knock it over and wondered how a t-shirt could do so much damage.

He pulled my boxers off my legs so swiftly I almost hadn't noticed. His hand stroked me up and down, starting out fairly slow. I let out a few low moans, hoping that no one would hear us.

* * *

Sakura poured herself a cup of caffeine-free soda, making sure not to fill it up too much. Halfway should be enough... She _was _on an all-liquid diet, but she still didn't want to over-fill herself. Maybe just a splash more couldn't hurt. Daintily, making sure not to spill, she took a sip and looked around at the intensifying party from the view of the kitchen.

The mass of people seemed to have multiplied considerably since she'd gotten there, and she took note of all of the extremely unfamiliar faces. She wondered to herself, was Kiba really friends with all of these people? She doubted it, not out of spite of Kiba, but just out of common sense. This is was happened at parties. The people who came invited others, who invited others, and so on.

She glanced around, waiting for Ino to come back to stand with her. It had been awhile now, probably ten, fifteen minutes since she'd disappeared, and she was getting anxious, not to mention lonely. She wasn't really all that close with anyone else there, and she'd managed to lose Lee somewhere in a crowd. She felt kind of bad for it, but if he really wanted to see her, he would end up finding her in good time (she gave him six minutes tops). Still, she didn't like being such a loner, especially at a party of such caliber, and would rather have anyone with her than no one at all.

Finally, Ino came stumbling over through some people, something way bigger than a cup in her hand. She smiled goofily at Sakura and threw her hand on he shoulder. "Heeeey!" she drawled out to her.

Sakura slipped out from under Ino's arm. "Took you long enough," she said, managing a rough smile. She took a sip of her soda and nodded to the huge, glass bottle that Ino was holding by its neck. "What's that?" she asked, not being able to read it because Ino was moving it around so much.

Ino took a swig of it and smiled at Sakura. "Someone brought alcohol," she said plainly, words slurring together.

Sakura looked at her skeptically. In fact, looked _down_ at her skeptically. Metaphorically, that was, being as it Ino was given amazing genes, in Sakura's opinion, blessed with the particular few that gave her tremendous height compared to herself. Though, at the moment, they were at eye-level, because Ino was hunched over a bit, leaning on Sakura's shoulder for support again.

She narrowed her eyes at the other girl. If it had only been ten or fifteen minutes, how much did Ino _drink_ in that time? She was damn drunk enough to be such an idiot, so she had to have had more than just a few drinks of that bottle in her hand.

Sakura snatched the bottle away from Ino, and it took her a moment to notice, too. "Gimme that," she said angrily. She turned around and stood on her toes, shoving it onto the top of one of the cabinets so that Ino, somehow, could not reach it. She was wasted, Sakura knew, and somehow not able to grab the damn bottle from a place she could easily reach.

Ino whined at her annoyingly. "Whyyyy?" she asked.

"You've had enough," she told her simply. "You need to stop now, and probably sober up a bit before you go home." Sakura turned around to look at a clock on one of the kitchen appliances. It wasn't even anywhere near midnight yet. She had plenty of time to beat her curfew and get Ino sobered up a little, right? She thought it out for a moment and decided that it was worth the risk. She took Ino by the hand and started to drag her to a bathroom she'd passed on her way there.

Ino tugged back a little, but was no match for Sakura's yanking. Sakura managed to pull her into a fairly large bathroom, herd out a couple that was making out there, and shut the door behind them. She kicked down the toilet seat and sat Ino down there, rifled through the cabinets under the sink for some washcloths, or something. She finally found one and drenched it in cold water, wrung it out, and set it against Ino's forehead. "Hold this there," she told her.

"If only my forehead were as big as yours," Ino joked. "It would be easier for me to hold it there." She giggled a bit at her own joke and hiccupped, taking the washcloth from Sakura.

Sakura sighed at Ino. "What were you thinking?" she asked her, sitting on the edge of the bathtub next to the toilet. She leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands. "Drinking alcohol. Tch. Idiot." She rolled her eyes at the girl who remained silent. "You should know better than that, Ino." Ino looked away, not sure of what to say. For a second, she looked rather sober, Sakura thought. But she was right back on the giggly side again, and Sakura knew she wasn't. "Don't be such a dumb—" Sakura would have finished that sentence, maybe with the word _girl, _maybe _pig,_ perhaps even _ass._ She would have, and she was going to, but Ino had shot her hand out, grabbed her by her shirt collar, pulled her towards her, and kissed her fiercely.

At first, Sakura wasn't sure what to think. What was Ino doing! Hadn't she gotten enough out of embarrassing her earlier? Then she remembered a couple important things: (1) Ino was drunk, and drunk people did stupid things, and (2) There was no one in there for Ino to embarrass her in front of, so why was she…? The washcloth that Ino had been holding fell onto Sakura's lap, dripping water down her legs. Ino slipped her tongue into Sakura's mouth and pushed her forward slightly, and Sakura's eyes widened in horror. The taste of alcohol was strong in Ino's mouth. What the hell was going on!

She ripped herself away from the other girl and scooted farther away from her on the tub's edge, staring at her with wide, accusing eyes. She had no idea what to say to her, then, just stared at her, huffing for breath because the kiss had taken it from her.

Ino smiled a little and looked down, looked up at Sakura through her lashes.

"So damn cute," Ino said to her, then leaned against the back of the toilet she was sitting on.

Sakura raised her eyebrows at her. What the hell was she saying! "Stop that," she said demandingly. "You're drunk."

Ino sighed and reached forward toward Sakura. She flinched, but Ino said, "Relax, I'm getting the washcloth." She picked it up from Sakura's lap and placed it back on her forehead, leaning her head back against the wall behind her, closing her eyes. "You're such an idiot," she said simply, sounding like the more sober Ino everyone knew.

"You're one to talk," said Sakura. She clasped her hands together in her lap and made sure not to look at Ino for a long time. She was glad that they were in the bathroom and hoped and prayed that no one would _ever_ find out about that.

* * *

The position had changed now, and by this time, Sasuke was fully unclothed, too. It took me awhile to get him to undress, but finally, he gave in. His head bobbed up and down on my cock with his hips hovering above my head, and I craned my neck upward and take his in my mouth. I held onto his knees so he wouldn't collapse on top of me, but I think he could have easily held himself up without my help. I heard his periodic moans and felt them as he sucked. I felt that I was close to cumming, and was going to say so, but before I could get a word out of my mouth, I felt his finger poke at my back entrance.

I jumped up instantly, knocking him off of me onto the other side of the bed. I scooted a little over away from him skittishly and looked at him with wide eyes.

He gave me a dirty, yet confused look. "What the hell was that for?" he asked, wiping his mouth.

I pulled my knees together and dragged them closer to me. "What were you doing?" I asked him stupidly.

He sighed and rolled his eyes at me. "What do you think?" was his reply.

I stared at him for a long moment, none of us saying anything to the other for a long time. The music could barely be heard in this part of the house, which was quite a relief, to say that no one else in the house could hear _us_. I was sure that I'd been pretty damn loud.

I knew just what he'd been doing, but I just… wasn't sure. About it. At all. I shook my head around, letting my hair move a little. I pushed some strands out of my eyes and looked back to him, but then back to the bedding at my feet, not enjoying the expression on his face. Distress? Irritation? The comforter was pushed aside and the sheets were all messed up now, nothing aligning with the bed quite right. I wondered what this person would thinking when they got back to their room. They should be lucky that we didn't leave some nice stains all over.

"Not tonight," I told him. He looked at me curiously and moved a little closer, but I didn't look back to him. "Just not tonight, okay?"

Usually, with the Sasuke I knew, he would jump my bones right there and say, _My rules, dobe_, and pin me down and ravage me to his liking or something. But for some reason, he didn't. He just wasn't predictable like I was. He stared at me for a long time, the only light showing in the room the pale moonlight, making him seem even more pale in contrast to the black bedding. He turned away and finally said, "Okay."

I glanced around the room for awhile, not knowing what else there was to say. I turned to the side to slide my feet onto the floor, taking in the room around me. On the nightstand I saw a picture frame that we'd knocked over earlier. I picked it up and held it up to the moonlight to inspect it. Looking back at me was a photo of Kiba and Shino when they were younger kids, in one of those cheesy frames that said _Best Friends!_ all around the border. I set it back on the nightstand face-down, not wanting to look at it again, because the thought that had occurred to me then was just as sickening as it was entertaining.

"We just fucked up Kiba's room," I told Sasuke.

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**OH YEAAAAAAH. Kiba's parties.. Heheh. And that Ino! What was she thinking? Was she really drunk? Hmm, I guess you'll find out. OR YOU'LL NEVER KNOW. No, I'm only kidding. I'm a strong disbeliever of InoSaku, so if you like it, SORRYYY, I don't. I just thought I'd include that for the lulz.**

**VOTE ON THE POLL? AND I'LL LOVE YOU FOREVER? xD**

**Read on, and pleasant days, everyone.**


	11. Warm, Encompassing Expectancies

**YAY CHAPTER 11. This is kind of a filler chapter; very short compared to the others. It probably won't matter if you skip over it but in the later chapters you'll be like "WHO THE HAIL IS SUKO ."  
But anyway, was screwing up on me for the past two weeks and not letting me edit my story, but thank you TheWrongSide for clearing it up for me! [foreverindebt]**

**Warning: Unnnfffff not too much to worry about. Just a Sakura.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto-that's it. **

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"But if I'm **CONTENT** with a little, **ENOUGH** is as good as a feast."  
-**Isaac Bickerstaffe**, _Love in a Village

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_

The sunlight beat down through all of the huge windows of my second-story apartment, surprisingly warm and bright for a day in the middle of winter. The yellow light streamed in, making the already-good day just that much better. I was nestled in Sasuke's arms, still halfway covered by my bed sheets and comforter, the rays warming me through the blankets. I was awake already, but I lied there still and silent, waiting for Sasuke to wake up, or rather, hoping that he didn't, because I was content with the way we were. But, of course, he stirred, his hands tightening around me for a moment. He turned his head to look at me with sleepy eyes, and I thought I saw a bit of a smile. I smiled at him and closed my eyes, snuggling closer, resting my head against his bare chest. He shifted to get more comfortable, a hand rubbing softly up and down my back, tracing circles and figure eights around.

He moved a hand to lift my face to look at him by my chin, and this time, his smile was clear. "Morning," he said quietly, the sound of his voice hardly breaking the silence of my otherwise void apartment.

"Good morning," I corrected him.

He pulled my face closer to him and kissed me lightly on the lips, a better greeting than any words. He moved back to lie how he was, but I refused to separate. I clung to the front of his shirt and pulled him toward me, kissing him again, making it more than a good morning kiss. In fact, it probably said something more along the lines of, _Great fucking morning, isn't it?_ The kisses prolonged, and soon I found myself already on top of him, the blankets tangling around me.

It was a pretty damn perfect moment, I thought. It probably would have continued on like this, and I had planned for it to, as I didn't have much of anything to do on a lazy Sunday… if the doorbell hadn't rang at that moment.

Sasuke turned his head to the side and looked away, letting his hair flop around in his face. He pushed some of it out of the way. "You better get that," he said plainly.

I leaned down to kiss him again, and he pulled me toward him, held onto me tightly. "I don't have to," I told him. I kept on kissing him, ignoring everything around me until the bell rang again, twice this time, an agitating sound. I groaned as he turned away again and, reluctantly, rolled off the bed and onto my feet. I glanced over at my clock—already eleven—and adjusted my boxers from where they'd twisted around my waist and went toward the door.

A distressed-looking Sakura looked back at me through the peephole and I sighed, not sure of what I should do. Answer the door? Pretend I'm not home? She knocked on the door, the sounds quick, one right after the other, almost no time between them. She ran a hand through her hair, fixing the sides, adjusting her headband on the top. She'd obviously made a little bit of an effort to look presentable.

I sighed and opened the door a little, leaning against the doorframe. I yawned and scratched my chest absently. "Hey, Sakura," I said tiredly.

She looked stressed to high hell. You could tell that she hadn't gotten much sleep the last night as dark circles were just beginning to form under her eyes. She wasn't wearing any of her light mascara like she usually did. Other than that, she looked as she usually did, wearing cuter clothes outside of school, her light pink hair perfectly in place.

She shoved past me quickly, something clattering against the doorframe on her way in. "I'm so sorry!" she said, not to me, but to the thing in her hands. I stumbled out of the way and eyed the big stained wooden crate-looking object she carried, closing the door behind her, as it was letting in chilly air. She turned back around to face me and said, "Please, take him."

I eyed her curiously, then the huge crate that she was struggling to carry, wondering just what the hell she was talking about. "What?" I said. The image of Sasuke floated into my mind quickly, and I cleared it, knowing that she couldn't possibly be talking about him.

She shook her head and turned around the crate to show me. The side she turned had a cage-like appearance, all made of some nice-looking stained wood. Some straw-resembling stuff was sticking out of one side, and on the other, I saw a small hut-thing inside.

"I can't keep him," she said. "My parents won't take care of him." She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "So can you please take him?"

I stared inside it, urging her to set it on the coffee table. She did, and I walked over to it cautiously, expecting some rabid creature to pop out and eat my face at any moment. I sat on the couch and peeped into it, waiting for anything to happen.

"What is it?" I asked her stupidly.

She hesitated. "It's a bunny."

I looked up at her with narrowed eyes. "It's…" I looked back at the crate, and wondered if it was under the hut, or if it was some kind of stupid joke she was trying to pull. "It's a bunny," I repeated. She nodded solemnly, as if she were at a funeral for it. She was getting rid of it, so hell, it might as well have been one. I scratched my head. "Sakura, I don't know if I—"

"Please!" she begged. "I don't know who else to turn to!" She planted her hands on the top of the crate and leaned over so she was nearly in my face. "I can't take care of him, and my parents won't." Her eyes started to well up at the edges. "There's no one else I can just hand him over to."

"What about Ino?" I asked.

That seemed to hit a huge chord in her. "Screw Ino!" she shouted at me, making me flinch a bit. "She's a stupid, stupid pig, and she doesn't even like animals!" She backhanded a tear off of her face.

I looked inside the cage again, waiting for the bunny to hop on out, but it never did.

"Please," she said again. "I don't know what else to do with him, and I _think_ I can trust you with him."

Did this rabbit mean that much to her? And she _thinks_ that she could trust me with it? I sat back against the cushions of my couch and let out a huge huff of breath. I was going to regret this later, I knew it…

"Okay," I said.

Suddenly, the wetness in her eyes disappeared and she smiled hugely. "You mean it?"

I nodded slowly.

"Thank you!" she said excitedly. She ran around the table to sit next to me and hug me tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She swayed back and forth, pulling me around in her embrace. I patted her back lightly.

"It's no problem," I lied. I pulled back a little bit. "You can let go now…" I told her.

She laughed nervously and let go, standing up quickly.

"So everything you need is in there…" She pointed at this tube thing of water with a spout hanging from the side. "He's got water, but make sure you replace it when he needs it. He's got a lot of food already," she pointed at a tiny white bowl in the corner, "and some straw to chew on. I buy his food from the store you work at, so it shouldn't be hard to find."

"We sell rabbit food…" I mumbled to myself, mentally scratching my head. I never remembered seeing any of it at the store, and I'd worked there for four years.

She hefted it up again by a handle on top. "Where do you want me to put him?" she asked me.

"Right there was fine," I told her.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Not right on your table, c'mon." She glanced around. There really was nowhere t put it…

"There's extra counter space in the kitchen," I said.

"You don't put animals in the kitchen," she said, as if it were common sense. It probably was. I wasn't thinking straight. It was still morning and Sasuke was waiting in my bedroom.

"Maybe in your bedroom?" she asked.

I rubbed my eyes and yawned again, not having heard her quite clearly. "Sure," I said, agreeing with whatever she said.

"Great!" She spun around an started to head toward the direction of my bedroom. It took me a moment, but I realized what she was about to do. I jumped off the couch and ran ahead of her, shutting the door and stretching my arms out across it before she could get there. She eyed me curiously and raised an eyebrow. "What?" she said accusingly.

"Don't go in there," I said.

She shifted the pen to her other hand. "Why not?" she asked.

"It's, ah… dirty," I said lamely, the idea sparking in my brain like a flint. "Yeah, that's right. It's reeeally dirty, and I don't want you to see it."

She eyed me up and down. "Naruto."

"Hm?"

"You're in your boxers."

I looked down. She was right. I should have thrown on some pants or something to answer the door, but it had never occurred to me, and it wasn't like I could do anything about it now.

"That I am," I told her.

"Do you think I care about your dirty room?" she asked. I nodded. She rolled her eyes at me. "C'mon, it can't be that bad," she said, pushing past me and opening the door.

"No!" I shouted, just as she went in. She and the crate were blocking the view of my bed. I couldn't see Sasuke, and I couldn't see the look on Sakura's face, either.

"Naruto," she said again, flatly. Emotionless.

I attempted to slip past her, but she wouldn't budge. I tried to look over her, but it didn't give me a good enough view of my bed. No one said anything, no one did anything. "I can explain," I said quickly. "You see, I came home from the party, and—"

"Why are guys so messy?" she asked, shaking her head and continuing into my room. She nudged my alarm clock and sat the pen on top of my nightstand. She reached around the back of the pen and slid something over, and through the front I could see half of the back turn into a window of sorts, with wooden bar like the front so the rabbit couldn't escape. "He likes sunlight," she said plainly.

But I'd started to ignore her, staring at my bed in confusion. Where did he…?

Sakura sighed heavily. "Boys and their messes!" she complained loudly. She shook her head again and bent over to pick up some of my clothes littering the floor.

"What are you doing?" I asked her, watching as she strangely started to clean my room.

"Cleaning, that's what," she said. "Someone has to do it." She retrieved a small pile and dropped it near my door, and some folded clothes.

I scratched the back of my head. "I guess if you want to…" I turned this way and that, trying to find Sasuke. He still had to be in there. There was no way that he had gotten out and past me and Sakura, or even out the window at that. I heard a small hiss behind me from the closet as Sakura babbled on about something unimportant, and swiveled around quickly to see it open an inch or two. Sasuke waved at me and winked. I made a face at him and a shooing gesture. He immediately closed it silently as Sakura turned around with the folded clothes in hand.

"I'll put these away," she said, brushing past me.

"You don't have to!" I told her as she advanced for my closet. "Really, it's no big—deal?" I tilted my head as she slid one of the doors aside and there was nothing there but hangers.

She ignored me and started to hang up shirts and pants as she ranted on some more about Ino or something like that. Like I said, something unimportant. I saw, as she turned towards me, the other side door slide open an inch and Sasuke made a kissing face at me. I itched my nose with my middle finger and nodded at Sakura's speech.

"You just wouldn't believe how drunk she was," she said, rolling her eyes. "Stupid girl, I tell you."

"Huh?" I said. "She was drunk?" I was pretty sure that I never saw anything but soda at Kiba's house. It didn't seem like that kind of a party… Then again, there _was_ a couple screwing in Kiba's own bedroom, so I wouldn't doubt that someone had shown up with alcohol.

"Yeah, weren't you listening?" she said, and I gave her a sheepish grin and shrug. She dismissed it right away though and continued on. "Anyway, and so I took her to the bathroom. She could barely even walk on her own." She hung up the last article of clothing and turned away, closing the closet. She sat on the edge of my bed and kept on talking. "That stupid pig kissed me. Right on the lips. _Again!_ I was just like, 'Whoa, Ino! I don't roll that way!' But she just insisted that I was so cute! So I socked her right in the mouth!" She held up her arm proudly and flexed her muscles, facing away from my closet for a few moments. Honestly, I thought she was exaggerating, but hell, she could be telling the truth. Sakura had quite a temper sometimes.

The closet slowly opened, quietly, and Sasuke started to slip out of my open bedroom door. I glanced at him as Sakura's attention was on her arm.

"I think I've gotten more muscle…" she mumbled, poking at her forearm absently.

Sasuke licked his lips and bit his lip, but I looked away as he grinned and slipped out silently. Sakura's head snapped to the side immediately, but Sasuke was already out of sight into the bathroom.

"Did you see that?" she asked, tilting her head. I figured that her stalker mode must have kicked in. Shit, she could probably _smell_ the Sasuke.

"There are ghosts in my house," I said automatically, like a robot. I hadn't thought much about it, just blurted it out. It was the first thing that came into my head.

She turned back to look at me with a really stupid look on her face.

"Huh!" she said loudly in disbelief.

I nodded. "They terrorize me in my sleep."

She stared at me for a moment, her mouth open in a weird shape, an eyebrow lifted so high I thought it was gonna come off her face. She shook her head at me. "Of all the things…" She stood up and smoothed out her skirt, ready to leave. "Okay, so let me go over this for you, because you probably forgot." She started to count off on her fingers. "Go to the store today or tomorrow and buy him food and straw. Refill his water frequently. Change the bottom out. Clean the pen when it needs to be cleaned. Don't overfeed him. And his name is—"

The bathroom door closed loudly, something close to a slam, and her head twitched to the side again. She turned her nose up, making me think, _wow, she really can smell him._ Without looking back at me, she said, "What was that."

"The ghosts."

"I'm not buying that ghost crap, Naruto," she said flatly. "What. Was. That." She looked to me, narrowing her eyes threateningly. I gulped and felt obligated to tell her the truth, but… what came out was the exact opposite.

"Okay, okay, you caught me…" I said, putting my hands up in surrender. "That was… my girlfriend."

Her eyes widened. "Whaaaaat!" She punched me in the arm playfully, but as always, it didn't seem very playful. "Get out!"

I glanced around. "I'm pretty sure this is my house."

"Get! Out! Get out get out get out!" A huge smile broke across her face and she leaned closer to me. "No way!" She grabbed my wrists and shook them. "You have a girlfriend!" She didn't wait for my answer before she busted out with several questions. "What's her name?" she asked. "What does she look like? Come on, tell me all about her!"

I shook my hands free of her grip and she let go easily. I leaned against the wall and scratched at the back of my neck. "Ahh, can we talk about this some other time?" I asked her. "I mean… if she's _RIGHT IN THE BATHROOM," _I made sure to make that part extra loud so Sasuke could hear. I could envision him snickering evilly. "She might get a little uneasy or something… She's really shy."

"So tell me about her," she insisted, having ignored every word I said. "I wanna know all about her." She crossed one leg over the other and sat forward on the edge of my bed, all ears.

I sighed, realizing that there was no way that I was getting out of it. "Her name is…" I thought for a moment. I had to think of something fast! She would automatically jump to the conclusion that I forgot "her" name… "Mimi," I said, recalling having heard that it was some cute name or something.

"Mimi?" she said, tilting her head, a strange expression on that made me think she didn't believe me.

"Yeah."

She smiled a little. "That's totally adorable. Tell me more."

"Uhhm… She's blonde?"

"Ooh, a blonde couple," she said, grinning. "Gonna have some striking babies, heheh!"

I laughed a little at her. "C'mon, we're not having babies…"

"Anyway!" she said, urging me to go on.

"Uhm…" I glanced over at the bathroom for a minute, noting the way the light hadn't even turned on yet. I decided to take an advantage of this opportunity and get at Sasuke for being such an ass. "She's this really girly girl, shorter than me, tiny, you know, fragile, all around adorable." I leaned my head back on the wall. "She likes cute things—little things, mainly—and is afraid of like everything. I'm pretty much her knight in shining armor." I smiled smugly as I heard Sasuke pound his fist on the bathroom door once.

"You, a knight in shining armor?" Sakura said. I nodded. At first she tried to hold it in, but then she burst into uncontrollable laughter, doubling over, holding her stomach, being way less demure than she would be if she'd known Sasuke were around. Then again, if she knew Sasuke were there, she probably would have suspected something. "She sounds like a total fool!" she exclaimed. "I mean, no offense, of course!" she added, remembering that "Mimi" was in the bathroom. She stood up and smoothed out her clothes. She'd laughed so hard that her eyes had started to well up with tears, and she swiped them away with her fingers. She started off toward the front door, and on her way there, she stopped by the bathroom and shouted, "Good luck!"

"Okay, bye, Sakura," I said to her as I let her out.

She smiled as I nearly closed the door. "Oh!" she said. "Before I forget! The rabbit's name is Sasu!"

"Sasu?" I said, tilting my head at the strange name. "Don't you think that Sasu is a little too cute of a name for a boy rabbit?"

She blushed a little and started off down the stairs of the complex. "Take good care of him!" she yelled over her shoulder.

I waved after her until I was sure she was gone and shut the door, locking it. Before I could even start walking toward the bathroom to get after Sasuke for nearly getting our hide's peeled by Sakura, he was there in front of me, pressing me against the door, his lips on mine. He forced his tongue in my mouth and rested his hands on my chest.

I pulled away after a bit, catching my breath. "What the fuck, you asshole?" I said. He responded by kissing my neck, pressing his knee between my legs, knocking them apart. He pressed into my groin and pushed himself against me even more. His hands moved to wrap around my waist and he pushed his chest onto mine, connecting us. I turned my head to give him better access to my neck, and he bit down harshly. I hissed at the pain and said, "She could have seen you…"

"But she didn't," he stated.

"She could have," I retorted.

"That would've been funny," he said, the smile apparent in his voice. He pulled me away from the door and pushed me over onto the couch, landing on top of me. He fervently pulled my boxers down and started to stroke.

"Unn… We just… Last night…" I tried to say, but the sentences wouldn't form, starting over with each pump up and down.

He grinned down and kissed my jaw. "Who's to say we can't again?" he said coyly.

I guess he was right.

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**Again, this was a filler chapter, really short, so I'll just go on and upload Chapter 12 too . Especially since was screwing up on me and not letting me edit the story for the longest time. FSJKKCFSE.**

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**Read on everyone, and pleasant days.**

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	12. Quirky, Sweet Wonders

**Hooray for three chapters in one weekend! Mostly because I didn't update last weekend. [blames the website]**

**Warning: **

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"Do I **CONTRADICT** myself? Very **WELL** then I contradict myself."  
-**Walt Whitman**, _Song of Myself_

Before I could even get myself situated in my desk, something was being shoved into my hands. I looked down at it, surprised to find a big brown bag filled with something fairly heavy. I turned my attention to Kiba standing in front of me, pushing it into my chest with a desperate look on his face.

"My parents almost found this," he said quickly, eyes wide and looking distressed. He pushed the bag into me again. "I'll be dead if my mom finds it! Dead!" I looked at him skeptically. I already knew what he was forcing into my hands and I didn't need to look down at it to confirm my thoughts.

"I don't want your alcohol," I said to him with a bored look on my face. I shifted it back into his hands and leaned against my desk, ignoring him.

He looked around to make sure that Iruka sensei wasn't in the classroom yet and that if he was he hadn't heard the word _alcohol_. "I don't know what else to do with it!" he said, aware that there weren't any adults around. "It's not even mine. Someone brought it to my party and left it there. There wasn't even supposed to be alcohol there. Or more than ten people, really. I promised and—well, you saw what happened." He looked around warily again, eyes darting back and forth, paranoid.

"Oh yeah," butted in Ino. "Things got a little out of hand, didn't they?" She smirked widely and nudged Kiba. He blushed a little and nudged her back, lighter though.

"Yeah, they did…" His blush intensified and I wondered what they were talking about.

"What did I miss?" I asked. "Sasuke and I got, uh, locked in the closet for a long time," I lied. "And when we came out you guys weren't in their anymore." I guess it was the partial truth. We let ourselves out of the closet (do NOT make a joke about that) and they weren't there, and we locked the door to Kiba's room? Ahaha… I wondered to myself what he thought when he found that scene of chaos that was his bedroom.

Kiba scratched the back of his head. "Nothing happened, really—"

Ino pushed him aside and said abruptly, "He totally made out with Shino on his couch!"

My jaw dropped and I stared at Kiba with my mouth agape. He pushed Ino roughly, but she just staggered a little and laughed loudly. Most of the class looked over at her and at Kiba, whose face was redder than a baboon's ass by that time. He pulled up the collar of his jacket to hide his cheeks, resembling Shino a little bit. I continued to stare at him, eyes never leaving his.

Kiba was—Shino and—They were—_What!_

I couldn't help but wonder… If I'd reacted this way to them, how would they ever react if they'd found about Sasuke and I…?

I brushed the thought away immediately and tore my gaze from Kiba as Shino walked to the back of the classroom where we were and took Kiba by his arm, led him to their seats more near the front. Neither of them uttered a word, only looked at each other with a mutual understanding. I raised an eyebrow as they walked away and took their paired desks. Shino's leg brushed Kiba's slightly, his hand landing on his thigh, and Kiba put his hand atop Shino's, but he turned the other way, his blush never fading.

I looked back at the desk where he'd been standing. He left his alcohol. That _idiot…_ I sighed heavily and grabbed the handles of the big brown bag and opened my backpack, stuffing it inside. "I swear to God, Kiba…" I mumbled to myself. "If I get caught…" I zipped up my backpack and dropped it on the floor under my desk, hearing a muffled CLANG! on the tiled floor and cringed at the sound. I'd have to remember not to do that later in the day.

Ino had stopped laughing and leaned toward me with a hand by her mouth, and half-whispered, "He didn't even have anything to _drink," _she said plainly. "He did it all on his own _accord!_"

I just looked at her blankly. Just simply look.

"What about you?" I ask, wanting to confirm what I'd heard. "Did you drink?"

She waved her hands around in front of her. "Me? Hell no! What kind of girl do you think I am?" She laughed a little, then stopped and looked around cautiously. "I had a few sips," she admitted, "but I promise that's all I had. I mean, I carried this bottle with me, but I just wanted to get rid of it. At least Sakura took it from me." She giggled and shook her head, her long ponytail swishing around her back, grazing the top of the desk behind her. "That idiot thought I was drunk! Can you believe it? How dumb can you get?"

I felt my eye twitch. "Okay," I said, sitting in my desk. I gave that to her as a hint to leave me alone, and she caught it, walking back up to the front of the room. Sakura ignored her as she greeted her, not even casting the usual glares or releasing the frequent insult. I looked away from them, not wanting yet _another_ unlikely couple to form in my mind. I had enough of that already, and my brain was on overload.

Sasuke entered the room, and I didn't have to look up to know that it was him. His presence was practically overwhelming. He sat next to me, brushing against my shoulder lightly as he sat, the scent of something warm and sweet wafting up in his entrance. I nodded to him casually, not wanting anyone to see me full-on smile and tell him hi. He nodded back once, not looking over. He immersed himself in an important-looking book and washed himself away from the rest of the classroom buzz.

Iruka sensei entered the room in a hurry just as the bell rang, gathering several stacks of papers and setting them on the table at the front. He addressed the class as usual, with a rather cheery, "Good morning, class!" but didn't receive his daily, _Good morning, Iruka Sensei!_ from Sakura. She grunted a less-than-ecstatic reply and propped her chin up on her hand, looking sleep-deprived and irritated. Iruka took note of that, but continued on as he always did. "Okay, as you all know, your essays are due today. You had two full weeks to do them, and you had a partner, so I have very high expectations. I don't want any excuses. So, with that being said, make sure the stapled sheets of the essay have both your names on the first page, and pass them up." Everyone grudgingly did as they were told, as did Sasuke, pulling out the professional-looking, typed essay, and passing it up. I only hoped that he had put some of my words in there, so at least it seemed like I worked a little on it. After putting the essays in a folder on his desk, Iruka clapped his hands once and rubbed them together. "Presentations are on Thursday and Friday, everyone, Thursday and Friday. You and your partner will be explaining your essay in detail to the class." I yawned and leaned back in my chair, filtering out all the unimportance of his words. I caught a few things, something about homework, and some lecture on the world. The rest I tuned out.

I ran a little to catch up with Sasuke, pulling on the one strap of my backpack I had slung on quickly so it was tighter. I caught him by the arm in a swarm of the student body at the center of the school, the most densely packed part of it. I was shocked I was able to make it to him in the crowd. He turned around to face me, a slightly surprised look on his face, and I was glad to think that I'd done something that _could_ surprise him, instead of doing something he'd known would've happened.

"I should've known I'd see you after class," he said, and my heart fell a little.

Nonetheless, I asked him, "Can you come over?" right away, glancing around at everyone around us. They were too busy and rushed to go other places than school than to pay attention to us, and they passed by quickly without a single look in our direction. Someone nearly passed between us once, but at that point, I pushed myself closer to Sasuke so that they would go around. I didn't want to risk a separation, no matter how small.

"Don't you work today?" he asked, voice having to raise over the bellowing ruckus of the crowd.

I looked down at my shoes. "Oh yeah," I mumbled. I'd totally forgotten about that. Soya wouldn't have been pleased if my excuse for missing work was, "Sorry, I forgot." I turned to leave him with a listless, "See ya," but he caught my wrist and pulled me back toward him. He started to walk off somewhere, trailing me behind him. "What are you doing?" I asked as he suddenly dragged me into a completely empty hallway, one where no traffic ever passed through because none of the classrooms were used. Why didn't they just lock the hall doors, I thought? I stared at him confusedly, wondering what he was thinking taking me into a deserted hallway.

He pushed me against a wall of lockers and slammed a fist on one next to me head, leaning over me slightly. "I know what you're thinking," he said. "'_What's he thinking taking me into a deserted hallway?_'" My eyes widened at his perfect decoding of my thoughts. He… he was reading my mind…? "And now it's, '_He's reading my mind!'_" I didn't think it to be possible, but my eyes widened ever more, feeling like they were gonna pop out of my head.

What the hell!

My brain didn't have time to process anything that was going on before he leaned over and kissed me on the lips softly, the kiss lasting for quite awhile before he pulled back and smiled.

"Don't think about it too much, dobe," he said, using the demeaning term _dobe_ in place of my name again. "Go to work."

I rolled my eyes and shoved him a little, chuckling as I left the building, smiling as I walked to work.

That… bastard.

* * *

"How was your weekend, kid?" Soya asked, blowing another bubble with her strawberry gum and popping it loudly right after. She had skated up out of nowhere it seemed, silently creeping on me. When she spoke up, I nearly dropped a huge box of instant Ramen that I was stocking on the shelf on the floor. That wouldn't have been good at all. I shifted it around in my hands and put it on the very top of the shelf. I was the one that usually stocked shelves, along with Soya, because Midori couldn't reach a lot of them without a step-ladder.

"It was okay, I guess," I told her, putting more boxes on shelves and pushing the flatbed cart to other aisles to load more stuff. She skated along behind me, sometimes helping out and loading things with me.

"Nothing exciting?" she asked, setting down loaves of bread.

I shrugged. "Not really." I didn't really want to tell her that I was going to parties and…well…yeah. "Oh," I said, "I did get a rabbit."

She looked at me with a small smile. "_You_ got a _rabbit_?" she asked.

"Yeah," I told her. "Which reminds me. Do we have rabbit food?"

She nodded and jerked her thumb in a direction more toward the back of the store. "Over in the pet section," she told me. "You've never seen it?"

I shook my head.

"You've worked her for four years, how could you have never seen it?" she asked confusedly, planting her fists on her hips.

"I was wondering the same thing." I pushed the cart along to load more things.

"So, boring weekend, eh?" she asked, seeming to know that there was more to my story than I was telling her. She was always like that, and it kind of freaked me out.

"Pretty much."

"What a bummer," she said. "No wild parties, nothing?"

I looked at her and she was smirking as if she knew something. I knew she didn't, she just liked to mess with me. "Not really," I said. "I don't get invited to parties."

"No?"

"Nope."

Midori popped her head up from the next aisle, which freaked the hell out of me. She must have been on one of the ladders, otherwise I wouldn't have even known how she got up there to begin with. She smiled and said, "Sorry, couldn't help overhearing."

"Where the hell did you come from!" I shouted, taken aback.

She just smiled even wider. "I'm working extra hours," she said. "I'm ahead in my online school, so I thought I might as well make up some hours I missed and help out at the store."

"Atta girl," said Soya, giving Midori a thumbs up. Midori returned it dramatically, almost falling off of her ladder, but she regained her balance and laughed lightly.

"I went to a party this weekend," Midori stated.

Soya raised an eyebrow at her. "You didn't get in any trouble, did you?" she asked her.

Midori shook her head briskly, her wavy black hair flowing around. "Nope. If I did, I wouldn't be here, right?" She smiled a little and continued. "It was some high school party my friends told me about. Of course, I don't go to school with other people, so it was really weird."

"Why don't you come over here and talk?" I said to her. "It's a little weird seeing you five feet above me."

She looked down at the ladder. "Good idea," she said. "I'll be there in a sec." She disappeared quickly, hopping down and running over to see us,

"That's a lot better," I said, scratching the back of my head. "I was getting creeped out."

"Hey!" she said and playfully nudged me. "Uhm, anyway, yeah and it was this pretty good party, I guess. There were a lot of people there, and more people kept coming. The house was huge, too!"

I thought of Kiba's house. Maybe she was there and I just hadn't seen her. After all, there were kids from several other schools there. One of them was Gaara. The thought of his face… sent chills down my spine. Especially the way he'd kissed Sakura lightly on the cheek. I wiped the memory from my mind and focused on Midori.

"It got kinda wild, though. And loud. So I started walking around the house, you know just seeing what it was like inside, and I walked past this bedroom and—get this!—these people were totally having sex in there!"

Soya gave her a weird look. "That's kinda gross," she said.

I nodded, not knowing exactly what to say.

"They were really loud and didn't even tried to hide it! It was really awkward, you know. You'd think they'd just go home to do that." She shakes her head and I gulp, thinking, _I don't think Sasuke would have waited that long_… "I left after that, though," she said.

"Kids these days," said Soya typically, sighing and grimacing.

Midori turned to go finish her work, waving a little over her shoulder.

I looked over at Soya, and she was staring me down, though I was taller than her. She had that look on her face again. _I know_…

I shook my head around. "I know what you mean," I said at last, turning to finish stocking things. After a few moments, she left.

* * *

"Tch. Too much homework, my ass. Could have finished it in ten minutes, he's so damn smart.." I kicked a rock out of my path, shoved my hands deep into my pants' pockets. Sasuke had denied coming over to my house today, on the account that he had too much homework to catch up on. It was the second day in a row that he'd told me that, and I was getting real irritated by it. That asshole had straight As, I'm sure, and a few assignments wouldn't even hurt his grade. "Maybe tomorrow… Whatever…"

Why was I so upset? Should it have really bothered me that much that he couldn't come over? It was just one day, surely I was able to withstand it. I would see him the next two days at school (though that always had its limits), and he could come over on Saturday. That was me, Uzumaki Naruto, with positive thinking! I tried to clear the negative thoughts out of my mind and focus on the next few days ahead of me, when I was sure he would be able to come over, but positive thinking only took you so far. The storm clouds rolled back over my good mood and just as soon as I had gotten out of scowling and kicking anything in my path, I was back in the rain inside my head.

I sighed and unlocked the door to my apartment lazily, thinking, _What's the rush? I don't have anything to do. Just homework. And how long does that take me, really? Especially because I hardly even do most of it, it really shouldn't be that much of a problem…_ I sighed again and plopped down onto my bed, staring up at my ceiling. A nap sounded like the perfect thing, and I drifted off with the lingering and repeating thought, _Damn, I wish he was here…_

The nap hardly lasted a couple hours, because when I woke, the sun was still out. I groaned and rubbed at my eyes, upset with the fact that I couldn't even get in a few decent hours of sleep. Ever since Sasuke had stayed the night on Saturday, I had quickly grown used to sleeping with him next to me, even if it was only for one night. Without him there close to me, my body seemed to lose it, and I was losing precious sleep because of it.

I glanced over at my backpack, contemplating homework. I knew that it wouldn't do itself (if it did, that would be amazing, yet totally pointless at the same time), but I was too lazy to do anything about it. I muttered at my homework to screw itself and produce little offspring answers and rolled off my bed to walk to the kitchen. I filled up a cup of instant Ramen and stuck it in the microwave, leaning forward onto my kitchen counter while waiting for it to finish cooking up in the three minutes I despised.

My mind wandered into the grounds of my ninjutsu.

I had realized that I'd been a little lacking lately… I had sort of outplayed my abilities the other night, but that didn't mean a thing when I was beyond exhausted after. I'd expelled more chakra than I was even sure I had, squeezing it near-dry. I was sure that if I'd gone any further, I might had terminated what I had altogether. That was one of the last things I wanted.

Naturally, I figured I'd resort to training. I could train till I dropped but I never had that much time with my tight schedule of school and work, and now seemed like a pretty good time.

The microwave knocked me out of my reverie and I pulled the cup out to scarf down the noodles in no time. It wasn't quite dinner yet, I knew that, but I was hungry, and Ramen fixed everything. And I mean, _everything_.

Except for training. It didn't quite compensate for that.

* * *

I looked over to the clock in the kitchen. It was getting late, but I refused to stop now. I was slightly ahead, I thought, so I wanted to get something done before I went to bed.

I felt beads of sweat forming on my forehead and chest, and my t-shirt clung to the damp skin there, but I ignored it.

I was on to something, I knew it. I could just tell. I was experimenting with sign-weaving, testing out different combinations. I wasn't very good at combinations and permutations in math, so I didn't come up with some fancy, organized method of approaching it. I threw myself into it and winged it, eventually finding my way. I weaved several patterns and forced chakra into them, thinking that if any of them made sense, I would have done something by then. Nothing exciting had happened, save for the few papers that rustled and blew off my coffee table slightly, but when I did a certain few combinations, I felt power behind them. I wasn't sure what they did, but I committed the order of signs to mind and told myself to add to them to see what I would come up with.

I leaned forward to put my hands on my knees, suddenly feeling a lot more fragile than I had before. I blamed it on over-working, then on being too weak to take it. I breathed heavily through my mouth and wiped the back of my hand across my forehead and the back of my neck. Woo, I was in need of a haircut. The hair there brushed down to the very bottom of my neck, and I wondered how I'd let it grow so long. I ruffled it around a little, making it stand up a bit more, but it weighed itself down and didn't stick up as much as it should have. Odd, I thought. Never matter, though. I shrugged and walked over to the bathroom, not bothering to turn the light on. I only needed a towel. I picked out a small one from the cabinet and walked to my bedroom while wiping the sweat off of my forehead and around my neck. I was too tired and lazy to shower then, so I'd just do it in the morning. I tossed the towel somewhere near my door in the same place where Sakura had placed the last pile. Of course, I'd gone out and done that laundry, but I figured having one spot for dirty laundry would be a nice change.

I shut the lights off and plopped down onto my bed, sighing up to the ceiling. The bed felt less comfortable than it had during my nap earlier, and I turned to lie on my side. That wasn't doing it for me, either. I turned to lie on my stomach, and groaned when pain shot up in my chest. I turned to lie on my other side, but it just bugged me to face the empty space there. I rolled to lie on my stomach again, but groaned more at the pain in my chest. What the hell? I hadn't done anything special with my chest, just weaved some signs. Did I mess something up?

I moved my hand up to rub at the painful area, then stopped. Pulled my hand away. Moved it back to my chest. Was I really feeling… what I thought I felt? I brought my other hand up to feel it, too, then stopped again. What… With my hands still planted in the same place, I sat up slowly and looked down at my chest, something I hadn't bothered to do earlier because I hadn't noticed this before… In the dim moonlight, I saw two lumps sticking out from my otherwise flat chest. I moved them up and down, then took my hands away, and they jiggled.

What…

"_WHAT THE FUCK_!" I yelled in the darkness of my room. One of my hands flew to my mouth, the other to my throat. I coughed a little as one of my neighbors yelled through the wall for me to shut up, that some people liked to sleep at night. I turned toward the wall and banged on it. "Screw yourse—!" I yelled at them, but stopped before I finished. I coughed again and grasped my throat. I cleared it roughly, but it sounded the same. Higher pitched, less bass, more trill.

More girly.

My neighbor continued to yell something unintelligible as I scrambled out of my bed and darted to my bathroom. I flicked on the light switch, wincing at the light for a moment, letting my eyes adjust. I rubbed them with the backs of my hands and finally took a peek in the mirror.

I walked out of the bathroom and leaned against the wall for a moment. Then I walked back in and looked in the mirror again.

Staring back at me was a slender figure with shoulder-length, choppy-looking blonde hair. It stuck up in different directions off of her head. Yes, _her_. She moved her hand to touch the longer strands as I did, fingers running through it curiously. I leaned forward to inspect her long eyelashes, groomed eyebrows, pink pouting lips, perfect near-tan white skin, ran skinny conic fingers over her soft cheeks. Her eyes were bigger somehow, the blue standing out more, the texture looking something like a rippling ocean. She blinked at me. I blinked at her. I tilted my head. She tilted hers. I looked down as she did, at her chest, realizing that they were my own—C cup boobs.

I grabbed them wonderingly, amazed. Yes, I had boobs attached to my chest, and they were… Whoa. Sure, I'd never touched boobs before, but shit, these were my own to play with, right? Maybe that was why they called them fun-bags… I slapped myself for being such a pervert, even though it was my own body. Just because it was attached to me didn't mean that I should have the liberty to play with it—God, that came out totally wrong. Forget I said that.

I leaned against the wall behind me and sank to sit on the tiled floor, my knees pulled up to my chest. I stared at the cabinets under the sink for a long time, finding some rather uninteresting patterns in the wood, not exactly sure what to do then.

"I'm a girl," I mumbled to myself quietly in that new, melodiously higher voice. I shook my head and grasped the sides with my hands. "Holy shit, I'm a girl…" I stopped. I looked downward at my loose sweats. There was no way… I pulled the waistband of that out slowly, and with my breath held, pulled out the waistband of my boxers, too.

They snapped back and I nearly fell over.

I was a damn girl.

My breathing quickened—or slowed, I wasn't too sure.

My thoughts flashed immediately to me weaving a certain string of signs, and feeling a strong sensation travel through my body. I'd ignored it for the most part though, dismissing it as either a start to something amazing, or gas. And now I saw clearly—it turned me into a female version of myself. I tried desperately to remember the order of the signs, but for the life of me, I just could _not_.

I stood up and padded back over to my bedroom quietly, lying on my back in bed as it was the most comfortable, and stared up at the ceiling absentmindedly, unable to wrap my head around the current situation. I let out a long breath and closed my eyes.

"Suko," I said into the darkness. I didn't look over at the huge rabbit pen on my nightstand, but I heard the bunny rustle in his hut. I knew he couldn't really comprehend anything I said to him, but he caught his name, and it seemed okay to rant. He had ears, didn't he? "This is some weird shit."

…Chakra. I had to run out of it sometime, and this had to time out. I had to be back to normal in no time.

I hoped and prayed that I would be back to myself in the morning.

* * *

**OMG. I've been waiting to do this for a long time xD I thought I seriously needed some humor and this was just calling out to me. Girl!Naruto is AMAZING. P.S. Where I say he(she?) has short blonde hair, that's just how I like it. For some reason I don't think that Naruto would have super long hair as a girl, because it would just get in his way. If he had to deal with it, he'd hack it off eventually, right? ^^ Oh, and NO, SASUKE CAN NOT READ MINDS xD He's just very perceptive.**

**Soooo yeah! Next chapter is how he deals. Huhuhu.**

**Don't forget about my poll everyone D: It's getting dusty~**

**Send your love to Japan and donate to help! Pleasant days everyone! :D**


	13. Sugary, Childish Tease

**AHHH SO LONG WITHOUT UPDATING! First I didn't have internet, then I couldn't log in... So much FSUHKHVERS!  
Anyway! Here's chapter 13! The amazing adventures of NARUKO xD Ahhhh... Teenage drama... [sniff]**

* * *

"She's **BEAUTIFUL** and therefore to be woo'd:

She's a **WOMAN**, therefore to be won."

-Shakespeare, _Henry, VI, I, V, 3_

* * *

I woke up to my alarm screaming at me, its nasal tones digging their way into my ears and stabbing into my brain, forcing me awake. I sat up groggily and slammed my hand on top of it, then mentally apologizing to Suko when I remembered that the clock was now resting on top of his pen. He scampered away into his hut and ignored me for the rest of the morning. I yawned and stretched my limbs, rolling to sit on the edge of my bed. I wiped my eyes with the backs of my hands and scratched at the edges. I stood up slowly and walked over to my bathroom, started the shower, still half-asleep and fighting off the urge to jump back into my bed and sleep the day away. I shuffled over to the kitchen, the linoleum floor cold under my bare feet, making me hiss slightly. Having already forgotten, I grabbed a cup of instant Ramen out of my cabinet and looked at it for a moment, contemplating eating it or not.

What was I thinking? Of course I wanted Ramen for breakfast. I always did—right? I tilted my head to the side and turned the cup to inspect the Nutrition Facts. My eyes skimmed down and checked everything out okay, until I got to the sodium levels. My eyes widened at the insane amount, and I shoved the cup back into the cabinet where it was. Still not quite shaking the thought from my mind, I grabbed some bread and peanut butter instead. This ought to have been a lot better. I slathered some peanut butter between two pieces of bread and brought it over with me to the bathroom, already having finished it before I even got there.

The shower was nice and hot and without even bothering to close the bathroom door, I started to tug at the bottom of my shirt. Then I stopped. Should I have closed the door? I knew that it was my house, but I just felt like… I walked over to it and shut it anyway, then locked it before going back to stripping. I tugged the shirt over my head and tossed it on the floor, yawning for the fiftieth time that morning, and pulled my pants and boxers off together, leaving it on the floor with my shirt. Before getting in the shower, I walked over to the toilet and kicked open the toilet seat, wondering why it was even down in the first place. I stood in front of the toilet and let loose—

"_Aaahhh!"_ I screamed at myself. I slipped on the now-wet floor and fell face-forward, my chin hitting the edge of the counter. I stumbled when I tried to get up, and looked down at the horrible mess of piss all over the place. What the fuck…?

Oh.

Oh, right.

I was still a chick.

I groaned in huge annoyance at the floor (and not to mention my appendages), and reached over to fish under the sink cabinet for a towel. I threw it on top of the mess and resolved to clean it after my quick shower. I was… covered in my own piss. I showered in my own embarrassment, gingerly cleaning myself, trying not to think of how awkward it felt to be finally touching a girl's body and it was my own.

Who would have known?

While still in my towel, I cleaned up the mess on the floor and made my way to my bedroom.

I stood in front of my open closet for a long time, not sure what I should have worn. I was sure that most of my clothes were fit to clothe guys, none of it being near slim enough to pass as girls' clothing…

Wait. Was I really going to go to school looking like this? I was sure to raise a hell of a lot of questions, and then some. What would everyone think? Holy shit, Naruto went and got an instant overnight, no wait sex change? Wait… That wasn't right. That wasn't right at all. That led me to think, they wouldn't recognize me, right? Of course not! Things like this weren't possible, so if they were thinking anything, it might just be, _Damn, she looks a lot like Naruto._ They seriously wouldn't recognize me. After staring in the mirror several times, I'd noticed the huge differences. My eyes were a lot bigger, prettier, with longer, thicker lashes. My hair was a little lighter of a blonde with high and lowlights, and nearly reached my shoulders, though it was still all choppy and sort of wild-looking. I had these awesome boobs—I mean, I had boobs. They were nice C-cups, and I found myself looking down at them curiously from time to time (just out of curiosity! I'm not that much of a pervert!). My body was a lot slimmer and I had more of that "hourglass look" girls strived for.

After realizing all of that, I made my resolve that I couldn't miss too much school (whoa, Naruto, what's with this thinking?) and I hoped that it wouldn't be suspicious that I wasn't there that day and this new girl was.

I patted my hair and tried to flatten it a little bit. The top wasn't so bad as the sides, where the hair stuck out horribly. It went down some, but I rolled my eyes at its non-compliance. My hair was always so unmanageable… I had never really cared, being a guy and all, but I was a girl now and—

That just sounded way too fucking weird. I cursed at myself and shook the thought out of mind.

I went through my closet over and over, not finding a single thing to wear, since they were all too baggy to fit a girl. I huffed back on my bed with a huge sigh, thinking that there was no hope. But that's when I looked up on the shelf of my closet and saw stacks of old clothes that I didn't wear anymore and was too lazy to get rid of. I picked out a white button-up collared shirt and put it on, and it fit perfectly, along with a pair of jeans that were skinny enough to make my legs actually look like girl-legs. Was I really this small before, I wondered? I went over to the bathroom to inspect myself in the mirror.

Shit. I hadn't thought about… Yeah. I was going to need an undershirt or something under this. I pulled a wife beater on and threw the shirt on top of it and looked back in the mirror. That solved _that_ problem, but… Girls usually wore… you know… _support._

I sighed heavily. I was going to have to make a trip to the store before I went to school. I picked up my wallet and shoved it in my back-pocket, grabbed my house key and left the house.

* * *

If there was anything more awkward than buying something like diarrhea medicine or Twinkies, it was buying a damn bra. I was going through the vast and varied section, feeling my cheeks flush just looking at everything. Everyone that I walked by, holding a new black bra in my hand, had to look at me, and at the bra, too. I pulled it closer to me and hurried over to the register. I glanced around every now and again, then reminded myself that it was okay because I was a girl, and—

I'm just going to shut up now.

* * *

I leaned against the wall next to the door of my homeroom class. I took a few deep breaths, but those didn't slow my quickening heartbeat. Was I making the right choice here? I should have just stayed home until it wore off… I slapped myself across the face, earning some curious stares from a few students walking by that were also late to class. I just smiled and nodded a silent _good morning,_ and they nodded and carried on their ways. I turned back to look through the small door-window over my shoulder. I could only see Iruka and a tiny bit of the front row of the class. Iruka was lecturing on something, moving around his hands to further his explanation. I couldn't hear what it was through the door, only the muffled sound of his voice, but Sakura looked really interested in the front, jotting down notes quickly. Ino looked bored, as per usual, doodling in the margins of her notes.

I took a few more deep breaths, and smoothed out my shirt and pants, adjusted my annoying bra (I was never going to get used to that word… might as well call tit a boulder holder), hoping this was okay… I reached for the door handle and—

"Excuse me," someone said from behind me. I jolted and turned around quickly, my hand twitching and hitting the door handle rather hard. I jerked backwards and pushed myself against the door. I heard Iruka's voice cease, and could tell he was looking at the door, along with most of the students.

I smiled at one of the school administrators, hall monitors—whatever they were called. She smiled sweetly at me and gestured for me to move. I raised an eyebrow at her as the handle jiggled behind me and I jerked out of the way. Iruka poked his head out of the door.

"Is there a problem?" he asked us. He looked from me to the administrator with a curious glint in his eyes.

"There's no problem," stated the administrator. I glanced over to her and looked at her name tag dangling from her neck. Her name was Yuuhi Kurenai. Ohh… I remembered her. She smiled to me and set her hand on my shoulder. "I just didn't recognize this student, was all."

"Oh!" said Iruka with slight relief. He blushed slightly and I raised an eyebrow at him. "You must be a new student, then," he said, and extended his hand. "Welcome. I'm Iruka." I shook his hand lightly, the touch feeling awkward, because the only touches I ever got from him were a light swat from a ruler or an eraser being chucked at my head. He scratched the back of his head nervously and smiled widely. "You better get registered," he said to me. "I see you don't have any paperwork with you?"

I waved my hands in front of me quickly. "Oh, no!" I said quickly before I'd thought of anything to say.

They both looked to me wonderingly. "Huh?" said Iruka. He sounded like an idiot. If I were normal… I'd probably call him out on it.

They stared at me for a moment. I racked my brain around for something, anything to say… "I'm a transfer student," I said simply, "but… I'm not sure if this was the school for me. So I thought that I would… take a tour! For the day! Yeah! That's it!"

Their looks continued, eyes narrowed. I almost took a step backward under their expressionless stares.

"It shouldn't be a problem," said Kurenai, easing instantly. She patted my shoulder again, the smile back on her face. "I don't see why not, right, Iruka?"

He chuckled anxiously, his blush intensifying. "I suppose not."

Kurenai got a creepy grin on her face. "You'll take good care of her, won't you?"

Iruka's eyes widened. "Of course I will…"

"Good!" Kurenai gave me a reassuring smile. "If you'd like, I could get you a proper uniform right now." I didn't know the uniform code was so strict here. I'd never really thought about it… Having a non-student go in uniform? Wow, that was… dumb.

I smiled a little at her offer. "Uh, yes, please," I said.

"I'll be right back." She left Iruka and I to stand in the hallway in silence, neither of us having anything to say. I had to hold back several dumb jokes and guffaws, and damn it was hard. She returned quicker than possible with a uniform shirt and skirt in her hand. "I hope these fit," she said, handing them to me. She pointed just across the hallway. "Bathrooms are right there."

I nodded and scampered off into the bathroom, almost turning into the men's restroom. Jesus, that would have been hectic. I quickly changed into the clothes, admiring the way my bare legs look in the skirt. I ran a hand along one, and it was silky smooth. The perks of being a girl…? I looked at my old white shirt and pants, and tossed them into the garbage can. I emerged from the bathroom and walked across the hall over to them. They looked at my hands curiously, no doubt wondering what I did with my clothes from before, but neither of them asked.

"They fit?" she asked.

I nodded. "Perfectly."

"Great. Good luck on your first day, and I hope you find Konoha High to be to your liking." She spun on her heel and continued in the opposite direction, leaving me and Iruka sensei to look at each other awkwardly. The word for all of this was just… _awkward…_

"Come right in," he said. "Sit in any empty desk." He moved to let me into the room and I brisked past him, careful not to touch him. I glanced around the room for "any empty desk" and found only one. My desk.

"There's only one…" I said to Iruka sensei.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" he said. "Is there a problem with sitting in the back?" he asked. I shook my head quickly. I'd rather sit there than anyone else.

I looked up at everyone in the classroom. They were all staring (save for Shikamaru who was sleeping), their accusing eyes focused directly on me. It was as if a spotlight had been set up in the classroom and someone was shining it right at me. I heard someone whisper something to the person next to them and found the source right away. It was Kiba, and he was snickering to Shino, who just nodded in response. Kiba made pelvic thrust movements in his seat and I took a step back, disgusted. What the hell was he thinking! Ooh, that asshole was going to get it from me later, for sure! I mean… when I was a dude! Yeah!

"Oh, my apologies!" said Iruka.

"Stop apologizing, you twit…" I mumbled to myself so that no one could hear, then turned my attention to him, resisting the urge to leap over the desks and pummel Kiba to the ground. Even in this body, I felt I could take him easily.

"Everyone, this is…" His eyes widened and he looked over to me expectantly when he realized he'd never caught my name, the question obvious in his eyes.

I blanked. I stared at him, not knowing what to say. I could have been a jerk and just said _My name is of no importance…_ but that seemed to be a kind of creepy thing to say, especially coming from a girl. I thought until my brain pulsed against my skull. I obviously couldn't say Naruto, because that was even weirder… and totally wrong. I tried to think of a way to keep it similar, so that I would answer to it, but not painfully obvious. Naruko? No, that was the clear definition of _painfully obvious_. Ah, something, something cute… It felt like forever when I finally said something, but it'd only been a few seconds.

"Koko," I said plainly.

Iruka blinked, urging me to go on.

Idiot! I hadn't thought of a damn last name. I said the first thing that came to mind. "Koko Uchi…maki." I cringed. What the hell? What the hell!

"That's a very interesting name!" said Iruka. "Everyone, this is Koko Uchimaki. She's a student thinking of transferring here, so please make her welcome."

I couldn't leave the front of the room faster. I usually loved spotlight and attention. Shit, I was a total attention whore. But this time, it felt different. Everyone was looking at me for a different reason. I quickly made my way to the back of the classroom and plopped down in my desk, staring down at the wood.

This was going to be a lot harder than I thought.

Without thinking, I glanced over to the side at Sasuke. He was diligently taking notes like a good student, looking up every now and again to observe Iruka's wild hand-motions and see what he was writing on the board. He took a lot more notes than everyone else was taking, Cornell style. Probably because everything he heard just stuck on his brain. For all I knew, he had a tape recorder installed in his big head.

"Nerd," I said.

He turned to glare at me. "Excuse me?" he said harshly, his words dripping with venom that I was sure would knock me dead at that exact moment.

My eyes widened. Shit! Shit! Did I say that out loud? Oh, shit! I did! This wasn't good, wasn't good at all… The edges of my vision darkened, and all I saw was Sasuke staring at me accusingly, his angry eyes boring into me, practically burning two big, fat holes in me.

"I'm a total nerd for this stuff," I said, lying out of my ass. "I mean, I just love…" I looked up at the board, at the words _global impact_ written hugely. "The globe. It inspires me." I laughed. Though the sound at first was melodic and carefree, it soon turned into a half-choked noise that I surrendered. I shut my mouth before I had a chance to fuck up any more than I already had and turned away from him to face the other way, feeling an intense blush spread across my face. He dismissed it and turned away, too, instantly going back to his work, which was a lot more important than taking crap from a new student.

I let out a huge breath and let my head smack down on the desk in humiliation. I was going to mess this day up so bad…

"Sasuke," Iruka said after wrapping up his lecture. Sasuke perked up at the sound of his name, but it was only something I noticed. To everyone else, he looked like a calm, cool guy. But I saw his attention spark momentarily.

"Yes?"

"Do you and Koko have something to share with the class?" he prodded.

My head snapped up at the sound of my alias. Every pair of eyes was turned around to stare at me. Me, and not Sasuke. I could see the accusation in most of the girls' eyes already. They practically screamed, _She's distracting our Sasuke. She's trying to take our Sasuke._

"No," he answered bluntly.

"That's what I thought," said Iruka. He set down a few papers. "Since you're already acquainted," he said, knowing that we were talking, "and since you're at the top of the class," he added, and I saw Sakura's head go down a bit slightly, almost unnoticeably, "can you show Koko around the school for the day, please?"

Sasuke sat there in his silence. He set his pencil down on the desk. "No," he said.

"Why not?" asked Iruka, tilting his head in question.

"I'm not a babysitter," he said flatly.

"Hey!" I interjected loudly, my high voice ringing in the classroom. "I'm not a baby!"

He looked at me with that same glare again, not having forgotten that I called him a nerd. It was totally different, I realized. I wasn't _me_. I was just some girl calling him names from the get-go. I cringed a bit in my seat. Anything to escape that expression.

"You're the only one I trust with the responsibility," he said. "And besides, she's right. She's not a baby. She's a student and you will respect her." Damn right, Iruka. That's what I'm saying. "Now, she's going to accompany you to all of your classes today, so I expect you to show her the full extent of the school." Yeah, that's what—wait, what? Go with Sasuke to all of his classes? Had it been any other day, I might have secretly agreed to that, but still, everyone would think it was weird, and the crazed packs of fangirls would surely form an angry mob against me, and…

Holy. Cow. That's it! I wasn't myself. That was the _thing_. I didn't have to act like myself, since I _couldn't_ act like myself! Damn, I was brilliant!

With a sudden change of attitude, I turned to Sasuke, batting my eyelashes. "Please, Sasuke kun?" I asked as sweetly as I could. I could feel several glares sending daggers and fire toward me, and I didn't really blame them for it. My voice was practically dripping with sugar. Any human guy with eyes and a brain to deny that had to be completely nuts.

"Fine," he said, looking like he was _not_ enjoying it all. He really wasn't. I could just tell.

"Thank you," Iruka said exasperatedly as the bell rang.

* * *

It had been three class periods and the only thing I'd learned about the school was that most of the smart-kid-class teachers were a lot nicer and that Sasuke would rather use a new pencil then get up and sharpen the one he had dulled out or broken. By the end of third period, I had begun to think that he had an army of pencils ready to go in his backpack. He hadn't introduced me to any of the teachers or even said anything useful to me, other than, "There's a bathroom," and "Don't touch that," when I'd tried to poke some curious-looking acid during a lab in his forensics class.

I trailed behind him on his way to lunch, having more trouble dodging the crowd than he was having. He weaved in and out of them easily, hardly ever so much as brushing past someone lightly. I had to jog to keep up with him, and came up behind him when he sat down on some stairs with his lunch. I sat next to him and scooted as close as I could without touching him.

"You're too close," he said. I wrinkled my nose and inched away slowly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a pack of hungry-looking fangirls. They looked like they wanted to tear me apart, actually. Make that rabid girls. That were hungry for a certain Sasuke that I had to myself. I stuck my tongue out at them and they gasped in unison, making angry faces at me. One of the girls made a slashing gesture across her throat. I flipped her off, and she stormed off in the clouds of a pissed-off estrogen bomb. I rolled my eyes at her and her friends as they left, leaving just the two of us, and looked back over to Sasuke.

"Do you like this school?" I asked him, trying to keep up my image of a would-be transfer student.

"Hn," he said. A small grunt. Ugh, I hated when he did that! It took everything I had not to yell at him.

"Uhm," I said, "do you like your classes?"

"Hn." I felt my hands tighten into fists on my lap.

"Do you have any friends?"

He sent a glare at me with an obvious answer. My eyes widened and I was pushed back a little by the look. "I-I'm sorry…" I said, totally not meaning a word I said. I wanted to punch the stupid jerk in his head! If there were a new girl, would he really be this rude to her? What an ass move! I wrung the edge of my skirt (what the hell) in my hands and looked back to him, still eating his lunch. "Uhm," I said again, not sure what to bring up. I said the first thing that popped into my mind (which, might I add folks, _isn't_ always the best choice when you have no idea what to say). "This is random, but have you heard of that Uzumaki boy?"

He coughed, sputtered, and choked on his food, sending grains of rice flying through the air and onto the floor. In a moment of panic (though at the same time I really wanted to laugh my ass off), I slammed my hand into his back. He swatted it away and pounded on his chest, reaching over for his water bottle. He took a few long swigs and set it back down, catching his breath.

"Why?" he said. I got a word out of him!

"I was just wondering," I said cutely, making my eyes look slightly bigger and pouting a little, though he wasn't looking. "I've just heard about him, is all. He goes here, right?"

After a long moment's hesitation, he nodded slightly.

I perked up a little bit. "Oh?" I said, a smirk playing on my face. "What have you heard about him?"

"That he's an idiot," he said quickly, without thought.

I grimaced. WHAT! Is that what he thought of me! I felt my face turn red in anger, then struggled to remind myself that he was still playing that façade, that no one else was supposed to know about… me and him. I had almost called it an _us_. So, of course, this Koko character was a part of that "no one else," meaning she wasn't supposed to know, either. No one was an exception.

"Is he?" I said, sounding surprised. Because in all honesty, I sort of was. You'd think he'd want to confide in someone, and being a new student, why wouldn't he confide in me…? I giggled a little bit, disgusting myself. "Oh, then good, I don't have to waste my time with him."

At that moment, I couldn't control myself. I just couldn't. As Sasuke finished his lunch and set it aside, my hand shot out and caught his wrist. I turned him to look at me, and he narrowed his eyes, trying to pull his hand away from me. But I held it firm in my grip. I shifted so that I straddled him on the stairs, something that normally felt so natural to me, but was probably foreign to have someone "totally different" do it to him… as far as I knew, and as far as the look on his face told me. It was screaming, _get off of me!_

My eyes were half-lidded as I looked into his and put my face closer to his.

"I can spend more of my time here with you…" I blinked a few times, growing closer and closer by the second. I was going to do it. I was totally going to, and there was nothing Sasuke could do about it. He was going to be kissed by a damn girl, and he was going to like it. But not enough to make him, I mean, change his…

Fuck! What was I doing?

But my actions overruled my thoughts. I planted a soft kiss on his lips, and he didn't move. I shifted a little bit and kissed him harder. He didn't seem to fight back much at all and I guess in a way that bugged me. Kiss me back, damnit! After a little of me kissing him, it seemed that he eased into it, kissing me back slightly… Seems that I didn't want him to kiss me back that badly. It really bugged me. I thought about it, and realized that if some girl he'd only just met were kissing him, he'd kiss her back with only slight hesitation. What the hell was that supposed to mean with me? What was I to think about it? I didn't really have time to wonder what I _should_ be thinking, but what I _was_ thinking was that I wanted to kick him in the nads so hard that he—

I was knocked off of him easily, scooting down a couple of stairs. He sure wasn't any less rough when it came to girls, was he? No, I take that back. Had that been me or any other guy, we'd be on the ground completely. Oh, so he _did _have a heart… He stood up and gathered his things, started to walk upstairs. I winced at my probably bruised butt and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"People like you," he said, glaring down at me with a newfound anger I've never seen before, "make me sick!" And with that, he stormed upstairs, ignoring me—ignoring Koko—for the rest of the day.

* * *

"That was the worst, worst, worst backfire _EVER!I" _I shouted as I slammed the door my apartment angrily. It was still the middle of the day and school wasn't even anywhere near over yet, but like hell I was going to stay at that torture chamber! To hell with _I can't miss anything!_ To hell with _no one's gonna think anything!_ To hell with Sasuke!

Not only was I pissed that he knocked me on my ass, and told me that people like me make him _sick, _but he had started to kiss me back. No, he'd started to kiss _Koko_ back. He did it so easily, too, right before pushing me down a few stairs. I sat on my couch and grabbed handfuls of my long hair, holding them tight in my fists, staring down at the carpet.

"What the hell," I said to myself. What was I supposed to think about that? Would he readily skip over me for some new tag-along girl? I mean, not to mention that said girl was _me_, but still, it was just some girl, and…

Oh, who am I kidding?

I quickly got up and stripped out of the school skirt and tossed it somewhere on my bedroom floor uncaringly, along with the shirt and boulder-holder, too. I looked at them sitting there on the floor and thought to myself, _even if I stay a girl forever, I'm never putting that damned bra on again!_ As if to further my reason, I rubbed my chest in pain. It resulted from the fact that I might have gotten a size too small, or that I just wasn't used to having something so constricting wrapped around my chest all day. I pulled on a big t-shirt and a pair of sweats to be as comfortable as possible in this stupid hot body. I figured that I had no one to impress, so why the hell not? I stormed into my kitchen and cooked a cup of instant Ramen. Who cared how much sodium was in it? I'm a dude, I told myself. Dude, dude, dude! I like unhealthy food and shit like that! I scarfed down the cup and easily drained two more after that. I could have gone for way more than just three, but I really needed to watch my figure—

What the fucking fuck! Just for that stupid, girly thought, I made two more and ate those, too. I was loving the taste of the chicken flavor on my taste buds and lied back into my couch cushions. I sighed in contentment as I felt this huge relief, this huge weight being lifted off of my shoulders, metaphorically, but then strangely, my back, physically. Ramen fixed _everything_…

And then, of course, nature called. It had a way to ruin a lot of great relaxing moments. I got up and ran to the bathroom at breakneck speed and sat down on the toilet, remembering that I was a chick. And chicks sat down when they peed. Because I figured out first-hand how they couldn't piss while standing up. It was just physically impossible, unless she had to be some kind of magician.

But as I pissed, something didn't feel quite the same.

I looked down.

PENIS!

I jumped up in excitement and did a crazy happy dance, but then fell on the floor when I realized I was pissing all over the place again like an idiot.

"FUUUUUUUUUCK!"

**Okay, if that wasn't the weirdest reaction to realizing you have a penis, I don't know what is. I know I sure as hell wouldn't be doin' no happy dance.**

**Anyway. Comment, review, please? I've been looking at my reviews going, "OMG GUISE I HAVE 19 REVIEWS-" then I read this story with like 1000. I almost cried.**

**I loooove my readers. All of you.**

**I'll be here really quick with 14 & 15 to make up for lost time.**


	14. Unexpected, Uncanny Roots

**OHYAAAA CHAPTER 14. Naru's got his penis back and we're all set to go! (Okay cause that didn't sound weird at all).**

**WARNINGS: nothing too bad in this chapter, but REALLY REALLY REALLY ANNOYING CHICKS WHO MAKE ME WANT TO BRICK BABIES- [scrolls through chapter] Oh and the end of this chapter=WOOHOO**

**Disclaimer: same as always.**

* * *

"Some things I'll **NEVER **know, and I had to let them go. Well I'm sitting all alone, feeling **EMPTY**."

-Paramore, _Pressure_

**MONDAY**

I shrugged my jacket off and tossed it over the back of my chair, then plopped down in it and let my head thunk down onto the cold, hard surface of my desk. I reveled at its chilly temperature, turning my head to let my temple lie on it. It cooled my headache down a bit, but it was useless when I was being bugged by the incessant noises around the room.

"Heard she goes to Suna," someone gossiped. I think it might have been Choji.

"I thought she chose to go to Ame instead?" said another person that I identified as Shino.

"Pffff!" said a third person that I immediately recognized as Kiba. No one else would make a sound so stupid… except me. "As if! No one gets into Ame that easily. I mean, it's so... p… pres…" Yep, that was definitely Kiba.

"Prestigious," finished Shino.

"Yeah! That's that word I was looking for." He scoffed a tiny bit. "They single everyone out, too, you know. And their security is so damn high. It's like, every day, you go through a metal detector, and shit like that. So dumb. I mean, what is it, an airport?"

I reluctantly peeled my head off of my desk and looked up at them a few rows ahead of me.

"Who the hell are you guys talking about, anyway?" I asked them with narrowed eyes. They all turned to look over to me, probably not have even noticing I was there. Kiba waved his hand at me when Choji started to say something.

"None a your business!" he said with high attitude. Shino nudged his side slightly, and suddenly he seemed to ease up, his cheeks even flushing a light pink at the touch, but he still rolled his eyes. "You weren't here on Thursday, huh?"

"Uhh, no. Thanks for noticing." It was nice to know that the idiot that I had most of my classes with hadn't even noticed my absence, and not even enough to ask me about it on _Friday_, instead of the next week. I sighed at his stupidity… and the fact that I shared all of my _idiot_ classes with him.

He laughed loudly. "You totally missed out!"

"On what—?" I stopped and looked between the three of them. They were talking about some girl, and… Oh, yeah. I owed that asshole one for thinking about _banging me._

"Picture this," said Kiba, hopping up to sit on a desk. He put his hands up to put detail to everything he said. "Perfect body…" I had a perfect body? "Beautiful curves…" Well, I guess they were pretty good. "Big blue eyes… Soft blonde hair…" How the hell would he know it was soft? It wasn't like he'd touched it. Creep. "Perfect skin…" I nodded, urging for him to continue. Get the hell on with it! "And a kickin' rack! That's what I'm sayin'!" He put his hand up to give me a high five, but I ignored it.

Instead, I surged forward, knocking him onto his back on the floor. I wrestled to gain control over him while he wildly kicked and tried to turn me over. We pushed the desks over so much that by the time the bell rang, there was practically a ring created around us, a cage of desks. We'd scooted Shikamaru's a little, and he woke up just long enough to switch desks and go to sleep somewhere else, mumbling something about how troublesome and annoying we were. I landed a few good blows to Kiba's face, but he turned me over and got a good one on my temple. My vision blurred for a moment, but I shook it off and pushed him over, continuing my punching.

The fight had gone on a good while before Iruka had actually made it into the classroom. He shouted for us to stop—for me to stop, mainly—but I wasn't going to stop then. Damn Kiba, checking me out like I was a piece of meat. I knew that he had no idea that it was me—if he had known, he probably would have said the exact opposite. But even the fact that that was all that he cared about when he looked at a girl… I don't know. Something set me off.

Suddenly, two hands were pulling me back by the shoulders. I grabbed onto the edge of Kiba's coat and yanked him up to punch him one last time before I was pulled away completely. That same person grabbed me forcefully by the arm and jerked me harshly out of the classroom, leaving Iruka yelling some kind of distressed _thanks_ behind us, and the class in a tiny riot.

I wasn't paying much attention to who was dragging me, and I didn't really care at all. I tried to pull my arm out of their iron grip, but they weren't letting go anytime soon.

"Let go of me, you asshole!" I yelled at them, grunting as I tried to pry my arm away. They were gonna cut off the circulation if they held any tighter. Sure enough, they did. I winced at the already-forming bruise. "I said let go of—oof!" I was pushed into a set of lockers, hard. The lock of one of them dug into my shoulder blade and I added that to my checklist of things that hurt—arm from the bruising, leg from a Kiba kick, and I think Kiba bit me on the shoulder. That damn dog! I was going to have to go get my rabies shot now.

I looked up at who forced me out of the classroom and into a locker. Sasuke had his head tilted forward, casting a dark shadow across his face that made him look almost menacing. I tried to move away from him, still a bit upset with him, though he had no idea why. He just pushed down on my shoulders with his hands back into the tiny metal doors.

"Let go of me," I demanded for the third time.

"What were you thinking?" he asked me.

I blew a strand of hair out of my eye, but it just flopped right back down. Worthless, unmanageable… "I don't have to tell you anything," I spat angrily.

He was silent. A strange look passed across his face. It was all I registered before I was on the floor, and Sasuke's hand was still clenched in a fist. I looked up at him angrily.

"You shithead!" I yelled at him as I grabbed his leg and pulled him down. I crawled on top of him. Sweet, this was going to be my second fight that day. The principal was going to love me later.

I tried to punch Sasuke, but he easily moved his arms and grabbed my fist before it hit his perfect little face. He twisted it and bucked his hips upward, knocking me off of him. He easily took the place on top of me and held my hands down on either side of my head, pinning his knees to my hips. He leaned over me, his breathing steadied while mine was reckless and wild. I struggled against him, but I was completely immobilized.

"Are you done yet?" he asked.

No, I wasn't. But after seeing how much energy I was wasting against a useless attempt, I stopped, and sat still, more or less. He waited to see if I was going to suddenly jump up and attack him, and when decided that I wasn't, he relaxed his grip a little bit. I huffed heavily and turned my head to the side, ignoring him as much as I could, even when he was on top of me. He leaned down toward me more.

"What were you thinking?" he asked again, voice seeming a lot more calmer this time.

I ignored him. He leaned closer.

"Hm?"

"Kiba's an ass," I mumbled almost inaudibly.

He leaned even closer. "That doesn't give you an excuse."

I snapped at him, looking him in the eye. "Who are you, my dad!" I shouted right in his face. He looked away for a second, realizing my shock at my own words, and took awhile to look back. Those weren't the words I'd wanted to say. Those weren't even the words I'd thought of. I hadn't meant to say that, it just… came out. An impulse.

I took a few moments to catch my breath. I was huffing angrily, eyes wide. As soon as I'd said those words, I wished I hadn't. They were the completely wrong words today. I could have said anything in the world, even something to make him hate me, but not that. I didn't want that pitying look on his face, that thoughtful expression, that stupid frown. I didn't want any of that. What I wanted was the damn bastard off of me, because, for one, even his feather-light frame was kid of hurting me after scuffling with Kiba, and for two, I just… didn't want to look at him.

The damn traitor.

I betrayed myself by looking up at him with half-lidded eyes, then looking away just as quickly after finding that he was looking back.

"Teme," I growled lowly.

"Dobe," he said in reply. I turned my head to insult him again, but he silenced me with his lips. He kissed me hard, pushing me against the floor of the school hallway. My eyes widened at what he was doing, and a million different thoughts racked through my brain at once.

The first was rather strange, I admit. An amazing smell pummeled me as he did, overwhelming my senses. Was that…? No, that wasn't… Oh, yeah, it had to be. There was no mistaking that. Sasuke smelled like…vanilla with a tiny hint of cinnamon. It was so delicious that it made my mouth start to water. I accidentally inhaled way deeply, breaking the kiss for a second, but his lips were right back on mine, waiting.

The second was that he was kissing me! I mean, yeah, _obviously_. It's happened before (a lot of times), and yeah I really liked it (really, _really _liked it), but… The other day, he was kissing me—I mean, Koko—I mean, shit! What the hell did this even mean?

And the third was that we were on the school floor! I didn't much mind, really (except for the fact that it was kind of disgusting), it was just the paranoia of someone walking out of their classroom was way too strong. Someone could have easily walked in—or out, I should say—on us kissing there on the hallway floor. It wasn't even like he'd dragged me into a bathroom, or even that abandoned hallway. No, it had to be right in the middle, where someone was bound to walk through sometime. And it wasn't like they could just say they walked in on two strangers. Sasuke was renowned throughout the whole school for his grades, but mostly for his looks. He was freakishly popular with at least 99.9999% of the female population was infatuated with him beyond any reason. As for me… well, I couldn't really say the same. I guess you could say I was infamously known for my spunk and pranks more than for my grades or even looks. Even though I had to admit that I was pretty hot…

"Sasuke—" I said against his lips. He ignored me and pressed his to mine once more, forcing his tongue inside my mouth. I bucked up against his hips, but he only pressed down harder. Was he a fucking idiot! He seemed to not care a bit about getting caught in the act—he probably didn't. Everyone would blame me, anyway, even being underneath him. I groaned against his mouth, and he moved to start kissing my neck, licking and biting the flesh. "You idiot!" I growled at him. "Do you want someone to walk in here?"

He seemed to chuckle a little. "Let them," he said with entertainment lining his voice.

I pushed up against Sasuke, but I knew that he was no match for me. "Get off!" I demanded.

"Make me." He bit at a certain part of my neck and I mewled softly, then, cursing mentally at myself, shut my eyes tight. The dumbass was going to get us into a bad situation, I could tell. I could practically smell a bad situation coming on, and it smelled like… I sniffed the air a couple times.

Berries?

**[HEY, YOU! Listen to "Fooling Mode" from the Naruto OST soundtrack while reading this part! xD It makes the best mood… Kind of. Hahaha.]**

"Wow, Sasuke," said an unfamiliar voice from just above me. My eyes shot open to see who it was, but they stood just under one of the hallway lights so that all I could see was a silhouette. From what I could tell, it was obviously a girl (a very curvy girl). That was pretty much it, though. I could almost see up her skirt—not that I wanted to, really! I was just stating that I could! But just to mention, you know, the print... leopard... hot damn, leopard print. Sasuke would look great in that-

Gods, I'm just going to shut the _fuck_ up.

Sasuke stopped immediately at the sound of his name, but didn't raise his head.

"You sure have stooped low," she said to him.

Sasuke scowled without looking up. "Shut up," he said, an infuriated tone taking over his voice, sort of frightening me for a moment. I'd dealt with that voice, but only when it was talking to me and easy to challenge. "What I do is none of your business."

The girl just laughed, the sound filling the empty hallways and easily echoing back.

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into," she said, words taking on a different sound, something less cute and more… hate-filled. She tapped the top of my head with her foot. "And I was talking to you, kid."

"Hey!" I shouted up at her. "Watch where you're sticking that foot!"

She laughed again, sounding even more enjoyed this time by what she was seeing, but not in an _I'm liking this_ kind of way. More of a _this is too hilarious_ kind of way. Though she didn't seem happy, not in the least bit. She tapped my head again with the end of her shoe.

"You're funny," she stated as if it were some kind of game, confirming my thoughts that she was just amused.

I noticed that Sasuke's grip had gotten lighter—a _lot_ lighter. I instantly took my hands from his and reached up to grab the foot that insisted on kicking me. I got a hold of her ankle and pulled at it, but she refused to fall no matter which way I pulled it. Her body stayed in the same, rigid pose, the only thing flailing about her leg.

"You must not want those hands," she said. I gave her foot one last tug before she twisted it around in such a way that moved both my hands to the floor with her one foot on top of them. She smiled smugly as I stared in astonishment, and she pressed her weight down on it. Holy shit, was this girl made of bricks, or what? She weighed a ton to be putting this much pressure on my hands! She leaned back over, her cleavage inches above my face. Damn, could she at least cover those things a bit more? The school-uniform white button-up shirt had the two top and two bottom buttons undone, showing off what she had—big boobs and a totally flat stomach. She pushed something up on the bridge of her nose—glasses, I think—and looked at Sasuke.

"I'll see you later, Sasuke kun," she said cutely, her voice perking up an octave. Or two. "I'm sure we'll have a lot of classes together." With that said, she removed her foot and started walking away from us, and I stared after her, her long red hair swishing on her back, hips swinging naturally. Her school-uniform red plaid skirt was too short to be considered appropriate, but like hell anyone would say anything against it. She was too fit for her own good.

I nudged Sasuke, who'd remained silent. "Are you gonna get off, or what?" I asked him

In one swift move, he was up and off of me, back into homeroom in less than five seconds, leaving me lying on the school floor, stunned.

* * *

Of course, leave it to Iruka to send me to the principal right as I get back in the classroom. I swear he loved punishing me sometimes. I think he got a kick out of it. He handed me the slip of paper and told me to grab my things and go right away.

"Also," he added, "can you remind her to send the new student in here?"

I cocked my head to the side. Was he talking about Koko? Cause, you know, she wasn't real, and that would just end up like some freaky Twilight Zone shit if I saw her walking around. I'd probably shit myself.

"What?" I said stupidly.

"The new student," he said again. "Just tell her and I'm sure she'll know what I'm talking about." He shooed me off without another word, and I was on my way lazily to the principal's—a place I knew all too well.

I sauntered into the main office casually, leaning on the tall counter, looking first up at the pictures on the wall behind the desk like I always did. There was a line of the past principals—cause I guess this school was renowned or something, and they were some pretty awesome people. There were only five of them, though, the last one containing a photo of the granny herself. But I was always curious about the fourth one, who had a name under it, but not picture. No one ever answered my question about that, but it wasn't like I really cared. I was just curious, is all. I looked down to the secretary typing on her computer.

"Sup, Shizu?" I said, all too familiar with her by using her first name.

"Go right in, Naruto," she said without looking up from her work.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Awesome," I said sarcastically. I strolled into a branched-off office and plopped into one of the chairs in front of the desk that was now adorned with a vase full of bright flowers. "Hey, Granny," I greeted the principal as usual. She scowled at me, as usual, pushing the huge vase aside. She picked out the little slip of paper sticking out of it and crushed it in her hand, throwing it away with a look of hatred and disgust. "He sent you more?" I asked.

She sighed and nodded, looking irritated, as she usually did when she saw me, or when she received something more from this same guy. Some hotshot movie director guy she knew in her childhood days was dead-set on winning her over, continuously buying her flowers, cards, and the like. She was tired of it from day one.

I laughed and leaned back in the chair, too comfortable in the den of the lion. "When's he gonna give up?"

"Don't stray off topic," she said. She tapped her principal's nameplate on her desk, reading _Principal Tsunade_. "Remember, I'm your principal, not your friend."

"But…" I said. "But doesn't principal have the word 'pal' in it?"

She scowled at me, but I just laughed.

"Uhm, yeah. Anyway!" I said.

She sighed again and leaned her elbows on her desk. "Let's get this straight," she said, "I'm tired of seeing you in my office."

"So stop calling me in here."

"I didn't call you," she stated. "You get sent here every time you fight, mouth off, or pull one of your stupid pranks."

"I don't think they're stupid."

"That's not the point," she said, growing impatient. She grabbed a few papers from a metal drawer in her desk, practically slammed the drawer shut, and set them on top, tapping them twice. "Know what this is?" she asked.

"An agreement to let me graduate early?" I joked with a grin.

"Expulsion papers."

I gulped. Whoops.

She grabbed a pen out of a holder on her desk and clicked it open, letting the tip linger over the long line at the bottom. "Just one signature from me and you're out of here," she said. I sank lower in my seat while staring at the threatening papers in front of me. She was really going to expel me…?

"I thought you liked having me around?" I said.

"Not when you're such a brat at school," she replied. The pen moved closer to the line.

"No!" I shouted. She stopped instantly.

She un-clicked the pen and let it fall to the desk, and I stared at it, confused. "Now that I have your attention… Stop getting in fights, Naruto."

"Yes, ma'am," I said, almost forcing the words out of my mouth.

She pushed the papers to the side and pulled out a couple more, signing them and checking a few boxes, then writing a tiny bit at the bottom. She ripped off the front—the white copy—and handed me the yellow one. "Get out of here," she said, "and be lucky I only gave you a detention for one day."

"Thanks, Granny!" I said with a huge breath of relief. Had I been holding it that whole time? I smiled, standing up from the chair. She waved her hand at me, dismissing me.

"Quit calling me that," she said, "or I'll find a reason to expel you."

I nodded quickly. "Will do." I opened the door halfway and started to leave as I remembered something of semi-importance. "Oh!" I said, and she spun in her chair to look over at me boredly. "Iruka sensei wants you to send the new student."

She tilted her head. "That what?"

I shrugged. "It's what he told me."

She turned back to her desk. "I already sent her down," she told me. _Her?_

"Huh," I said. "Well, I'll let him know, K?" She nodded. "See ya, Granny!"

The door closed, cutting off her yells. I gave Shizu a sheepish grin before slipping out of the office.

* * *

"Damn, I know!" exclaimed Kiba from the usual lunch table everyone sat at. He laughed and went on about some new girl, and I listened in to make sure I wouldn't feel the need to kick his ass again. "God, did you see her hair?" he continued on.

"Oh, yeah," said Ino, taking a huge bite of her school-bought pizza, "heard it was just _luscious."_

"Yeah," piped in Sakura, looking at her lone granola bar as if wondering if she should eat it or not. "If you guys don't mind, I'd really rather not hear about this _beautiful new girl_ that everyone has been talking about." She nodded at everyone and started into her granola bar with a tiny, tentative bite. _Is that all she's going to eat? _I thought, then just shrugged and decided that it was more than my bottle of water. Eating when I got home or at lunch was so much cheaper than it was to eat at school, and I could hold off an empty stomach for awhile. It was no biggie.

"Actually," said Ino, "I heard she was a real bitch." She laughed a little and set down her pizza crust. "Someone told me she lectured the Literature teacher about some war, because she was totally wrong or something." She shrugged and got up to throw away her plate.

Before she could get far, Sakura said, "She doesn't sound much different from you."

Ino turned around after tossing her plate nearby. "Oh?" she said with a smirk. "I think you two would get along great."

Sakura brushed some hair out of her face. "Is that a fact?"

"It is."

The two started off on their usual bickering back and forth _like good friends_, and we all just tuned them out like we always did. Everyone turned back to Kiba and urged him to finish what he was saying.

"Red," was all he said. "Long, red hair."

My attention sparked more. I thought for a moment, and… _that_ was the new girl? Huh, then I guess that must have been her they were talking about, because I'd never seen her before in my life, and she talked to Sasuke like she hadn't seen him in forever. And she definitely was a real bitch. I had a few bones to pick with that girl…

"Glasses?" I asked Kiba.

"Uh, yeah," he said. "I think."

I nodded. It was her. I don't how knowing that she had glasses decided it, but the new girl Kiba could not shut up about was definitely this girl.

I looked at the seat next to Sakura where Sasuke was sitting. On most days, he would sit with us, and that was usually only because Sakura would practically beg him to. On days when he was in a bad mood, I noticed he would sit somewhere else… and now I knew that that somewhere else was the staircase under the library. My attempt that day to put him in a better mood was as good as if I'd done absolutely nothing at all, if even, made it worse. I was actually surprised that Sasuke sat at the table with us. The guy was damn hard to figure out, if I don't say so myself. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he just wanted to surround himself with people.

Sasuke's hand had stopped still with a slice of pizza in it—his favorite, I recalled, just classic pepperoni. It froze with the pizza just lifted off of the plate. He stared in the same spot on the table blankly, as if waiting for something to happen.

Strangely enough, that girl from the morning strode up behind him and easily threw her arms around Sasuke's shoulders, bending over to hug him tightly from behind. Everyone from the table turned to look over at her, and Kiba nudged Shino, who seemed to ignore him. Even Sakura and Ino quit their chatter to glare at her, which was saying a lot. It took something huge to get them to stop arguing, so we usually let it go. So for them to stop so quickly and so abruptly without coming to any kind of stupid conclusion was a huge feat. They booth looked over at the redheaded girl with narrowed eyes. Their expressions matched each others. In fact, I could see girls from other tables turning to give her the stank eye, too. And actually, I caught myself accidentally doing it, and tried as best as I could to stop.

But as I continued to look at her, I realized how pretty she was, and why everyone had been talking about her so much. To be honest, in the looks department, she had most of the girls at the school beat. And by the looks on a lot of their faces, they knew that, too. It almost hurt to see all of their crushed expressions. Then again, I knew who Sasuke really wanted (or at least I thought I did), and I gained a huge sense of pride watching them look away.

Other girls continued to bore fiery holes in the girl's back as she hugged Sasuke.

"Sasuke kun~" she said, again with the cutesy voice. "Come sit with me."

The look on Sasuke's face could best be described as steely, I suppose, something cold and metallic. His mouth was a borderline frown to straight line, and he pressed his lips together to keep from saying anything. He never turned around to look at her, never set his pizza down or kept eating, never uttered a word to her or to anyone.

She swayed from side to side, and turned her head to say something in his ear that no one quite heard very well. Just after she said it, leaving everyone wondering what it was, her eyes flicked to me for a moment, something like resentment flashing in them, before going back to Sasuke with a devoted stare.

Sasuke stood up suddenly, knocking the girl back a bit. She staggered, but regained her balance, and as Sasuke walked away, leaving his lunch sitting on the table, she clasped onto his arm with hers, leaning against him. She stuck to his side as if he were wrapped in double-stick tape. I saw a million heads watch the two walk out of the cafeteria and into the school corridors, all lit up with curious stares, uncaring shrugs, and a _whole_ lot of angry glares.

I resisted my urge to throw someone's pizza at her head and follow them to wherever they were headed, because whatever she was doing with him didn't seem right at all. Sasuke would never willingly get up in the middle of lunch and leave with just anybody. Hell, I think that if death itself were standing right in front of him, he would tell him that he was going to finish his lunch first before he did anything else. But with this girl, he stood right up and left, no words said. It was really odd for him to just leave everyone here.

Speaking of… he left his pizza.

* * *

**TUESDAY**

I pulled my gym shirt over my head, glad that I didn't have any nasty-looking wounds or bandages to hide today, so no one looked my direction until Kiba came right over and plopped down on the bench by me with a stupid grin on his face, as if we didn't just have a pointless fight the day before. I looked down to him while I shut and locked my locker, waiting for him to say something. But he never really did, just sat there in a freakish silent that was out of the norm for Kiba.

"What?" I said curiously to him, coming off as a bit annoyed. I realized that I'd been sounding like that to everyone that I talked to that day and the day before without meaning to. I blamed it entirely on that girl—Karin, her name was. She had the same homeroom period as me, which totally pissed me off. I wanted to see her as less as possible, and we had most of our classes together, which meant she had less classes with Sasuke. But every class I had with Sasuke, she did, too—except for gym, and that I thanked with an obvious relief. God forbid that damn girl have a boys' gym class.

"I'm just in a good mood," he said, sounding light and carefree. Since when did Kiba sound _light_ and _carefree?_ I cocked my head to the side and stared at him, bringing my foot up on the bench next to him to tie my shoe. His smile grew a little wider. "What?" he said, when he realized I'd been staring him down this whole time, as if to pummel information out of him. "Is it so wrong for a guy to be happy?"

"When you're smiling like a freak, staring off into space, and making sounds like a little girl in love," I pointed out, "yes, it is very wrong." I finished tying my other shoe and poked him in the side. "Fess up, bub. What's got into your brain?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, sounding almost… innocent. It creeped the hell out of me. Kiba was never innocent!

"I mean, why are you acting so god damned weird? It's seriously creeping me out," I admitted. "Stop it."

He rolled his eyes and scoffed, punching me in the shoulder. Oh, good, he still had some normal Kiba left in him. "Whatever, man!" He stood up and I watched him walk off, his stride seeming more confident than it was before. He walked by Shino as he was changing and slapped his ass with a loud, "Yee haw!"

I could feel my eye twitching. Yeah, this was a guys' locker room, but that was a little unorthodox.

Brushing the matter out of my head as soon as Kiba walked away, I shrugged and lied down on the bench, staring up at the paneled ceiling. I let out a long breath and closed my eyes, waiting for our class to be called outside, letting my mind wander a bit.

What was up with this Karin and why was everyone so obsessed with her? It was fucking weird, I'll tell you. And I hated her, that was for sure. Anyone who Sasuke would openly spend his time with like that sure checked off as an automatic _hate_.

But why was I getting so upset about it? I mean, look at me! I was practically green with jealousy! Pretty soon, they'd put me in green clothes and call me the Jolly Green Giant. That's how bad it seemed. What I couldn't understand is why it was upsetting me so much. I guess it was just that Sasuke spent a lot of his time with her, but it wasn't like we could openly talk to each other much at school anyway, or at least we just didn't want to. And it had only been one day, and I'd even worked that day, so who knows? Maybe he would snap right back. And it wasn't like I didn't have other friends to hang out with besides Sasuke—but still, between Dog Breath, Know-it-All, Sleeping Beauty, and… Sakura… I wasn't sure who I wanted to hang out with less. And like Sakura would want to hang out with me anyway.

An image of that creepy Gaara kid from Suna High flashed in my mind with the thought, _why not him?_ And I dashed it away quickly, telling it to get lost and never come back. I had no idea where that one came from, and I wasn't sure that I really wanted to know.

"Man, and I thought I was lazy…" muttered Shikamaru from somewhere near me. I opened my eyes to see him leaning against a locker, scratching his head. I blinked a few times and sat up.

"Huh?" I said, sounding like a total idiot.

"I can't believe they didn't even see you sleeping there," he said plainly. "If I'd known that they didn't pay that much attention, I'd sleep in here everyday."

"What are you talking about?"

"They all already went outside," he told me. "Playing basketball or something stupid out on the courts… Not really my sport, so I hung back in one of the bathroom stalls. But they'll mark me absent if I stay here, so I guess I'll go and just hang back." He turned around and started to walk out of the locker room. "Come on if you want to, but I don't think they'll really care if you stay here." After that, he left.

Have you ever been in a place that was normally so loud, when it was quiet? It was eerie. The normal rowdiness was absent, and the whole room was empty. There were no sounds echoing off the walls, no objects flying over rows of lockers, and no random kid streaking through the place because he thought it was funny. To be honest, it was kind of creepy. The silence was compelling, not to mention intimidating.

With a sigh, I lied back on the bench and closed my eyes again. Maybe I could catch an hour of sleep, a little something to add on to my catalogue of the whole two I'd gotten the night before. I moved my hands to rest my head on them and let my legs dangle off either side of the bench. I didn't think I'd felt that seriously relaxed in what seemed like months, even more.

And, of course, being the universe's number-one hated human being, something had to interrupt that relaxation and derail me completely.

Someone's face crashed into mine—particularly, their lips. My eyes shot open and I tried to catch a glimpse at who it was, but the dangling strands of black hair brushing my cheeks should have made it obvious.

His hands moved to push my shoulders down, keeping me from getting up, and he straddled my hips on the bench. One of his hands moved to slide up the front of my gym shirt and I shivered under his cold touch. I threw out my hands to wrap them around his neck and pull him closer to me. Hips grinded on mine roughly and I let out a soft groan. My sounds seemed too loud in the silence, and I tried to keep them down, but when he took one of my nipples between his fingers, the sounds were uncontainable.

"What are you..." I started to say between kisses, but the words never really came out, just for the reason that I already knew what he was doing—and because he silence me with his tongue. The question was _why _he was doing it. I couldn't quite wrap my head around it.

His hand moved from under my shirt to grab the inside of my thigh, dangerously close to my hardening cock. Damnit…! I couldn't control myself. I tried to bite my lip, but it wasn't possible when I was kissing him—or, when he was kissing me. Which was more accurate, I wasn't too sure. I tried to do something to stop myself from getting aroused, but it was too insanely hard—I mean, difficult.

He stopped suddenly and pulled my shirt over my head and dropped it on the floor, leaving a trail of wet kisses along my chest and stomach, and coming to a stop at my hips. He yanked my gym shorts off my legs feverishly, tossing them somewhere behind him nonchalantly. He tugged my boxers off and left them hanging by one of my ankles, then started to leave a series of dark marks on the inner side of my thighs (at least I wouldn't have trouble covering them up), slowly working himself upward.

There was nothing for me to grip when he took me into his mouth, so I grabbed fistfuls of his hair, which he didn't seem to happy about, but I didn't really care. His groans of annoyance only felt even better around my cock—which I would never really admit to him.

"Nngh, Sasuke…" I cursed at myself mentally for moaning his name so easily and I tossed my head to the side, hair falling in front of my eyes that were closed tight. I tried to correct myself with a, "T-teme…" but it started out with a stutter and ended with a huge moan, which was probably even _more_ embarrassing than the former, so I stuck to the small mewls, even silence, but that didn't stick out so long—I mean, hold out.

Gah.

I tried to ignore the fact that we were in a locker room, which was totally unsanitary. I tried to also ignore the fact that I hadn't spoken to Sasuke much at all in the past few days. I tried mostly to ignore the fact that I was kind of sort of mad at him. Eventually, all was forgotten, and I slipped right back where I was before.

Shit. I was totally whipped.

My loud, embarrassing cries filled the void of the locker room as I threw my head back, the sounds echoing off the tiles and back to us, over and over until I was silent once more, the only noise apparent my heavy breathing. My grip loosened around his tufts of hair and he pulled his head away. He grabbed my gym shirt and cleaned up most of the mess with it—bastard was too lazy to walk ten feet over to the bathroom and get some paper towels—and dropped it back on the floor. He pulled my boxers back on for me and dropped my shorts in my lap.

With one last short kiss on the lips, no hesitation, and a barely audible, "Dobe," Sasuke was gone, leaving me to wonder what the fuck just happened.

* * *

**UNF UNF UNF**

**Of course, Sasuke can't NOT smell like cinnamon, but I threw in vanilla because VANILLA IS A FUCKING DELICIOUS SCENT DON'T YOU BAG ON VANILLA. It's tested and proved to be a widespread favorite and make people hungry and/or horny (which is always a good mix).**

**Thanks for reading~ stay tuned for the coming chapters! I'm slowly reaching the CLIMAXXX (omg that word.)**


	15. Worthless, Penniless Cries

**UNF UNF. OYES. CHAPTER FIFTEEN, I SEE YOU THAR.**

**Warnings: NNS NNS NNS NNS and teenage angst.**

**Disclaimers: DEIKSFLEISFSEI. I don't own anything.**

* * *

"I can **RESIST** everything except **TEMPTATION**."

-Oscar Wilde, _Lady Windermere's Fan_

* * *

You have no idea how hard it is to dodge questions like, "Why did you stay in the locker room?" "What were you doing?" "Why are you so red?" "Why are you breathing all funny?" "Why are you shirtless?" "What are you doing with your shirt?" and "What's your problem, dude?"

I rolled my eyes at Kiba, who'd been the one to ask all of those questions. Yes, all of them.

Though, somehow, I found a way around them, even though he didn't buy the answers.

My answers to them had been, "Because I felt like it." "Sleeping." "I slept on my cheek." "I got bored and did a bunch of laps." "I got sweaty." "Uhhh…" and "…" I ignored the last question, tossing my shirt in a trash can uncaringly near the bathrooms. It wasn't like I was going to take it home _now._ Now that it as covered in—yeah. I could always just get a new one. They were only like ten dollars or something, and the teacher didn't even care if you had an actual PE shirt on, as long as you _had_ a shirt on. You don't know how many times I'd been lectured on taking my shirt off in class. It wasn't like I had anything to hide, you know. A perfect body sure was a sight for sore eyes—until someone had to pipe up and add that my body wasn't perfect, and that I should lay off the Ramen.

Thanks, Sakura.

Kiba eyed me funny and raised an eyebrow at my weird act. I turned around to find him staring at me.

"Dude, whatever," he said, walking away, shaking his head at me. I flipped him off as he walked away.

* * *

I spotted the one person out of the crowd instantly. Sasuke was a lot taller than most of the people at school, but not to say he was some freak giant or anything. I navigated my way through the sea of blank stares and ignorant minds, sometimes having to push my way through, occasionally stopping and standing up on my toes to get a good look through the swarm of bodies. For a moment, I thought that I was never going to catch up to him, and I stopped walking. It was kind of pointless. Damn, I was too short…

"What do you want?"

I perked up at the sound of the voice—it had sounded not so distant, and turned around a little to see Sasuke standing just a few feet from me, leaning against a column. People walked between us every now and again, but I instantly closed the gap with a few quick strides. I stood as close as possible to him without causing an awkward scene. We were, after all, enemies in everyone else's eyes.

Or at least I'd hoped.

I glanced around a little, checking to see if anyone was staring or making a weird face at me, but he just said to me, "No one cares that you're talking to me, idiot."

_Idiot_.

I gave him a nasty scowl and crossed my arms across my chest.

"Whatever, ass." Yet still, I continued to look around. I double-checked. Triple-checked. Why couldn't he just pull me back into that hallway, I thought? Well, actually, why didn't he just come with me to the back of the school? I didn't work, so it was only rational—right? Gah, why was I being so clingy? Did I come off that way to him, too? I uncrossed my arms, then crossed them again, not sure what I should do with them. I looked up a little into his eyes, but found it difficult to hold the eye contact for more than two seconds. I looked away suddenly at a few people walking by, noticing a cute couple walking hand-in-hand, an angry-looking group of thugs, and a lot of chatty girls. Though, surprising enough, no one turned to look over at Sasuke or me at all. I would think that their stalker trackers would tell them where he was at the moment and they would flock to him, but, no. I sighed a few times, not knowing what I should be doing or saying there. I jammed my hands in my pockets and opened my mouth to say something—but as I attempted to make eye contact with him again, a flash of red behind him caught my eye.

Karin strutted up behind Sasuke, just a bit of a ways away from where we were. She pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose and adjusted the strap of her bag. She still hadn't been told fixed the button problem (either that or she didn't listen, which I didn't doubt) and her belly button and slight cleavage were still in view for everyone to see.

I had time to ask Sasuke what I'd been planning on before she got there, but I knew it was useless. If she showed up, the question was as good as answered already. Instead of saying what I meant, I said, "Never mind," with just the teeniest smile, as if I could care less. He looked at me curiously, but I only kept on smiling, then looked at Karin as she walked up behind Sasuke.

She laced her arms underneath his and around his waist, hugging him tightly.

"Hey, Sasuke kun," she said with that annoying cutesy voice she made whenever she talked to him. It was grating on my nerves down to its very core. I had this temptation to rip her voice box out, but I knew I wasn't capable of that, and even if I was… that would be a bit creepy. No, a _lot _creepy.

She turned for a moment to glare at me through a glass filter. She narrowed her eyes at me, scowling angrily, emitting such a nasty, horrible, gunky aura that it almost hurt to just be near her. I wondered how Sasuke stood it. Then again, his was almost just as similar, only a lot more bearable.

"Let's go get some pizza," she suggested in her small-sounding voice with a smile.

My heart dropped. I felt it. I felt it sink from my chest down to the pits of my empty stomach, then even lower, till it fell out of me and rolled around on the ground, still beating until Karin stomped on it with her brick-feet. I felt that before I even heard his answer.

She let go of him and stood at his side, putting just one arm around his waist. She started to turn him around. "Shall we?"

Sasuke didn't look away from me while he said, "Sure," with slight hesitation. She turned him around, and it took him a moment to look somewhere other than me before he was fully turned around.

I dashed away in the opposite direction before he could turn back, something burning in my throat and the bottom of my stomach.

All I wanted to ask is for him to come over. Was that too much to want, too much to ask for? I was even going to go buy some pizza for him, too, because I thought he'd be in the mood. I know the world never really spun my direction, and nothing revolved around me, but…

But I guess you don't always get what the things you want, even the things you want most.

* * *

_What do you want? No one cares that you're talking to me, idiot._ _Idiot. Idiot._

The words continually stabbed me all over, like an army had just all shot their arrows at me, focusing mainly on my chest. And they were on fire. My eyes burned a little and I rubbed at them in frustration. Why was I so touchy all of a sudden? Words never got to me, and I mean _never._ Not even when Sakura had called me "a dead-last loser who'll never amount to anything." (Though the swift kick she delivered after that did get to me.) Even though she'd just been angry at the time, it didn't change the fact that no matter what anyone said, I would always have something to say back, or it would just be like a neutral attack. Nothing could derail me.

So what the hell was my problem?

And as if I could shake from my mind that scene from the locker room. My brain was reeling, spinning, tossing and turning out of control until it fell out of my head to join my smashed heart on the ground. There had to be some reason, some kind of motive behind what he did. He couldn't just… He would never just… do that. And leave.

Okay, he would (and I wasn't sure if that thought was supposed to be reassuring or just made me think about how much more messed up it was), but it was a lot different than… the usual. His attitude, the way he looked at me, the way he kissed me with such force, the _speed—oh, the speed_. Damn, it was fogging up my mind like a bad movie flashback, making my thought process jumpy and corrupt like some hardcore drug addict's. I just couldn't think of a single reason why. Why, why, why?

There were so many questions buzzing around in my head like a bunch of pests. The more I tried to swat them away, the more they would bug and attack me. It was a futile attempt to get rid of them, so I tried the best I could to pick through them and answer as many as possible.

_Why are you so irritated?_ Well, it all started out with the Karin girl. She makes me doubt myself, I think, and makes me feel so inferior. Sasuke spends all his time with her, where he used to spend most of it with me. I haven't seen him in days, really, and it was just so unnerving. And yeah, he came over to work on the essay, but he'd finished it, using it as an excuse to come over. So what was this, then? I skipped over that and picked through more of the pests.

_What's your problem?_ Karin.

_No, really, what's your problem?_ I just told you, stupid brain-gnats. Karin.

_You're lying to yourself. _Well, to hell with you then!

I pulled a pillow tight over my head while lying down and took a huge breath before screamed into the sheets of my bed. It was a total girly thing to do, I thought, but it did help a little, and between punching/breaking things and going crazy on that son-of-a-bitch, this seemed the only way to relieve anything, even in the smallest amounts. After I'd screamed enough air out of me to make my head feel light and dizzy even when lying still, I put my head atop the pillow and let myself fall into a nap that I thought would never come. My stomach growled angrily just before I fell asleep and I ignored it for the first time ever.

_What's wrong with me?_

* * *

I woke up in terrible alarm, bolting half-upright in my bed. I held my head in one of my hands and pinched the bridge of my nose between two fingers. There was this nasally beeping sound yelling at me incessantly, and I wasn't too sure if it was in my head, something to accompany the ringing in my ears, or if it was in real life. After a few minutes of it not going away, I turned to realize that it was my alarm clock that had woken me up. I groggily hit the snooze button, making sure not to disturb Sasu too much (as if the damn beeping hadn't), and switched the alarm off. I wiped my eyes and looked at the neon green numbers on its surface: 6:56 AM.

Shit! I was gonna be late for school! I leapt out of bed, stumbling when I'd gotten up way too fast and everything swapped colors. I dumped some food into Suko's bowl because he was out, and he hopped out happily to munch on it right away. I yanked on a pair of pants and the school shirt and dashed out the door only to realize that I'd forgotten all of my stuff. After running back inside and grabbing my backpack and house key and shoving a pair of shoes on (how did I forget shoes?), I slammed and locked my door, sprinting to school because I'd long since missed the train there.

I crashed through several people walking on the sidewalks, nearly got hit by two cars, and got cursed at and pseudo-threatened countless times before actually making it to the school, but at least I made it there.

I showed up at the door of homeroom just a few minutes before the bell rang to end that period, only to find the door locked. I wiggled the handle over and over but it wouldn't budge. I leaned against the wall next to the door lazily, breathless. _You've got to be kidding me…_

Iruka sensei appeared at the door, holding it open just enough to stick his head out.

"Look who decided to show up," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"My bad," I said.

"What kept you?" he asked, crossing his arms.

I shrugged. "Dunno. Just didn't wake up."

He sighed and rolled his eyes at me. "Class is pretty much over," he said, "but come sit in your seat anyway. I'd rather not have you running around the school playing pranks or something. Especially during the period where I'm supposed to have you." He moved aside to let me in. I grinned at him and I walked tiredly to my desk at the back. I guessed that even running through the cold morning air and getting honked and yelled at hadn't much woken me up.

I plopped down in my desk and set my backpack on the top of it, resting my head on it. I refused to look anywhere but down, not wanting to look over to Sasuke next to me, not wanting to talk to him, not wanting to deal with him for time being. I was tired, cranky, upset, and I probably looked like hell. Not that anyone really cared, but still. I sighed heavily, thinking of what a girl I was being. _Stop complaining about your looks_, I told myself. _No one cares. Seriously_.

I could hear Karin cooing over Sasuke next to me, and it was irritating as hell. Of course, every class that I shared with Sasuke (about half of my schedule), she had to be in, too, and who knows what other classes she had with him. I.e., the smart classes that I didn't have. Sasuke never said anything back to her, preferring silence over accidentally egging her on. Even still, she continued talking about how cute he was, how smart he was, and how much she missed him when she was gone, which was _oh so much_. It was obvious from the very beginning that they'd known each other before from her words _You sure have stooped low_. I just had no idea when, because as far as I could remember, I'd been going to the same schools as Sasuke since we were just little kids. Then again, she could be a family friend or something.

Either way, I didn't like her, and I could easily start an army with that fact alone. No one in this school seemed to like her, honestly, but it hadn't started that way. At first, all of the guys were in love with her—or, rather, her body, to be exact. Some of them actually cared to get to know her, some didn't. Whichever it was, she rejected all of them with a snarky or rude remark, actually yelling at some of them for their attempts. At first, a lot of the girls looked to her like an idol of sorts. She looked like she could be a model with her perfect body and perfect hair, and the glasses only made her look smarter—so I've heard. The lowerclassmen looked up to her, the girls in our grade adored her, and the one grade above us envied her, wishing they'd been like that the year before.

She easily turned all of this against her when she turned out to be such a bitch. Already she'd nagged countless people for various reasons _(That's wrong. You're wrong. Can you be any stupider? Glasses don't suit you. Sasuke says Glasses suit me well. You're wrong again. You're totally doing that wrong. You're an idiot! Stop talking, I hate people who talk too much. Sasuke doesn't like them either. You're so annoying. Your hair could be more fashionable. That's not your color, you look terrible.) _and no one was taking it lightly. Usually it was easier to be forgiven for things like that when you were good looking. That was the only reason Sasuke wasn't torn to shreds by his own fangirls by then. But she abused that and didn't care what anyone thought, turning her into one of the most frowned upon students, even with her amazing grades—from what I've been told. Now, Karin didn't get away with anything, and she was even sent to the principal's office once for yelling at a teacher. I doubt it was her first time yelling at a teacher, with her temper, but it wasn't like I cared.

Within minutes, the bell rang, and I waited a few moments instead of getting up and leaving right away. Karin urged Sasuke to get up and walk her to her next class.

"Hn," he said, ignoring her as he packed up his things.

She sighed heavily and groaned in annoyance. "Whatever," she said. "Suit yourself." And with that, she left the room in a huff of hormonal anger.

After everyone else left, I waited for a bit longer, pretending to be asleep or something like that. I waited to see if Sasuke would say anything, or if he would leave like everyone else. It was silent in the room, Iruka having left to go to the bathroom or something. I heard a slight stir next to me, and Sasuke stood, slung his backpack on, and left the room.

If he had anything to say to me, it wasn't very important.

* * *

I pushed open the door to the back of the school after running past a bunch of angry-looking janitors who saw me go toward the back door, then kicked it open when it started to close on me. They must have greased the hinges recently, because it was always slow to close. It slammed harshly behind me, the loud sound echoing out behind the school. The noise from the wild crowd of students inside could no longer be heard, and I plodded along the back way to go home, realizing now (after running in the morning) that it was, in fact, much faster to walk than it was to wait for the train or bus.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and stared at the ground, kicking stray rocks out of my path, veering off of my straight line to step on and crunch a leaf or two, purposefully demolishing every bug I saw. If a puppy walked into my path, I probably wouldn't have hesitated to kick it. And if a baby had candy, I would take it. That's just how much of a bad mood I was in.

Nothing could really fully explain why I was being such a downer, but I could think of at least one specific.

Lunch time had been hell. Sasuke was sitting there again today, and when Sakura was trying to get him to stay when Karin came for him, Karin yelled at her and called her all sorts of things. She insulted her hair, her attitude, her personality, and of all things, her forehead. Of course, hotheaded Sakura wouldn't stand for that at _all_. She went on right back yelling about what a bimbo she was, what a nag she was, how no one liked her, and how annoying it was that she acted like she knew Sasuke so well.

At that point, Sasuke stood from the table, slamming his palms down onto its surface. He turned toward Sakura and scowled at her, his glare so menacing, Sakura was frozen in her place. He practically growled at her, "I can't stand you," and spun on his heel to leave with Karin, who turned back to stick her tongue out at Sakura.

I'd stood up from the table, unable to contain my rage. "You're such a fucking asshole!" I yelled at him, accidentally knocking someone's tray and spilling their lunch everywhere during the process of standing up. I looked down and there was a huge pile of salad on Kiba's lap, which Shino proceeded to help him clean. Ignoring that, I turned back to Sasuke, who was even farther off, and opened my mouth to say something else.

But Sakura interrupted me. "Just stop!" she demanded, voice shaking. When I looked at her, her eyes were welling up at the sides, and her hands were clutching the hem of her skirt and wringing it around in her hands. "Just stop, Naruto!"

I couldn't say no to her. I just couldn't. But I wasn't able to keep myself from saying anything more. So I got up and left the table while everyone else there comforted a distressed and sobbing Sakura, silencing her tiny cries when I should have been the one to pull her into my arms and tell her everything was going to be okay and quiet her worries with a reassuring kiss. I was then reminded why I liked her so much—and that I still kind of did—and the reason why I was never going to be able to be with her.

Sasuke.

But… what did I want?

I shook my head, letting my hair fall into my face, trying to ignore the wind rushing in my ears and blowing dirt into my eyes. Guess I should have taken the bus after all.

* * *

By the time I got home, my hair was a mess of tangles and mussed around in horrible directions and I was rubbing my eyes incessantly with the back of my hands to get dirt out of them. I sighed and hopped in the shower for a bit, washing off the recollections of the day, deciding it would be nice to at least attempt a relaxation of sorts. I went to seek out my ever-ready reprieve, my elixir, my ailment, reveling in the hot noodles, though they burned my tongue on their way down and I couldn't taste the rest of it. I ignored the stinging sensation spreading throughout my mouth that urged me to silence it with some cold water and started to make some hot cocoa instead, just because it was colder than the Antarctic in my house and I needed something better than a blanket to warm me up. I nestled into my couch with my feet hugged closer to me, leaning back into the cushions, grasping the edges of the blanket I had huddled myself into. I pulled it closer, and after several minutes of struggling to get it to lie right, I finally found way to sit with it so that I was completely warm. And, of course, right as I did, the tea kettle with the hot water in it was screaming at me, and I had to abandon the amazing warmth. I stood with a sigh and went to go pour some hot cocoa mix in the hot water, letting that sit on my tongue, too. I didn't much care that I wouldn't be able to taste anything for the rest of the day now, because the only taste I wanted on my tongue was that of vanilla and cinnamon.

* * *

There was a strange relief that was settled over homeroom on Friday morning. I ran a hand through my soaking wet hair, a little confused. It couldn't have been because there was a heavy rain and a slight chance of snow soon. Anyone would get excited over that, but there was no relief in rain. I looked around the classroom to see that nothing else had really changed. Everything remained the same. Sakura sat in her desk while Ino sat atop hers, and they were chatting about something I couldn't quite make out. Kiba was copying someone's homework before class started. Shikamaru was leaning back in his seat, doing nothing in particular, eyes narrowed as if he'd just woken up. Neji was lecturing Hinata on something, but she nodded and looked diligent, so I figured he wasn't totally harassing her about something unimportant for once. Sasuke sat at the back of the room, attention immersed in a book he was reading. There was nothing different about the scene at all.

It was still really hard to talk to Sakura after Wednesday. After I'd attempted to stand up for her when I knew she was badly hurt, she lashed out at me. I was used to it, but that time seemed different. Even considering all of this, I walked past her desk on the way to mine with a normal, "Morning, Sakura."

She glanced in my direction, then looked back to Ino and continued talking as if she hadn't seen or heard me. She didn't acknowledge my presence, and for once, I was okay with that. Ino looked up at me and gave me a sympathetic look as I continued on to my desk.

I plopped down and scanned the room again. Everything was normal. So why did everyone seem so at ease? Given, Sakura was still tense whenever I was around, but other than that, she seemed to be loads better than she was the day before, and the same could be said for everyone else in the room at the time. No one hid scowls or faked smiles, and that wasn't to say that everyone was a total group of downers. They all just seemed a lot more reserved, the atmosphere lighter than it had been.

"Morning," said a bored voice from my side, sounding almost tired. I turned to eye Sasuke strangely, an eyebrow going up in curiosity. He hadn't looked up from his book, and he flipped the page, continuing to read on. I knew that I hadn't imagined it, that that single word had really been spoken and I wasn't hearing things.

"Oh," I said, crossing my arms across my chest, "so you're talking to me now?" My words were slightly lighter than harsh, a point off from being snarky and sitting at sarcastic. I tilted my head back slightly to show my dominance.

He ignored that comment and still didn't look over at me, but still replied with a lazy, "Hn." I took it as a good sign that at least he was attempting to answer me at all and didn't much press the matter further on account that I was making _some_ kind of progress.

I sighed and rolled my eyes at him, then leaned forward a little bit to catch a glimpse at what he was reading. The spine of the hard-cover book read, _The Enjoyment of Music: Third Edition._ I resisted my urge to snatch the book and throw it to the ground immediately. It sounded like a load of crap and I wanted to get rid of it. Why they had to make a third, or second, or even _first_ editions of that kind of book was beyond me, and reading just the title really got me going.

"Why the hell are you reading _that?_" I asked him, words coming out to sound a lot more angry than they were supposed to. He never answered me that time, not even with a half-hearted grunt, just flipped past page after page, reading at a pace quicker than I would have imagined for a regular person. Then again, Sasuke was no normal person. He was an ego-crushing, energy-sucking vampire that moped around his life all alone, making friends with nearly no one.

And I liked that bastard?

"It's interesting," he said at last, breezing through pages and pages of facts and notes and things.

I scrunched my nose up at the thing in his hands. It was like a dead mouse he was holding up and reading instead of the book. It took a lot not to knock the blasphemy from his hands. Why would anyone ever take the time to write a book like that? Whatever it was, it was beyond me. I guess I just didn't have that _acquired taste_ that Sasuke seemed to have. Tch, whatever. I sat back in my seat with no further say, just waiting for the bell to ring. When it finally did, Kiba scrambled to copy a few more answers and nearly leapt out of his seat to run to give Lee his homework back. Shikamaru attempted to look awake and Neji stopped talking, sitting with his back straight as a board in his desk. Sakura and Ino stopped chatting and Sasuke set his book on his desk, closed, no bookmark. He probably didn't need one.

Iruka entered the room, looking confused as ever as he scanned over a piece of paper in his hands. He rolled his eyes as he finished reading it and crumpled it up, tossing it in the garbage bin next to his desk.

"Okay, everyone," he said, clapping his hands together once. He gave the room a once-over and decided that what he was about to say wasn't much worth half his time. "By the looks of it, word gets around fast." He sighed and ran a hand along the top of his head, his hair pulled back into a ponytail like it always was. "As you all probably know by now, our new student Karin has withdrawn from school and will no longer attend Konoha High." He shook his head as if to dismiss how stupid the thought was. Several people around the room started near-silent chatter, some not having known about it like he thought, but most of them did and just nodded at the information. To me, it was news. I felt a sensation of relief running through me, and I instantly realized why it'd felt that way when I walked into the room. All of the muscles in my body seemed to relax at the final absence of the girl who'd been spoiling my mood—and everyone else's—for days. "Which I totally don't understand," he went on. "Does anyone else see this? We keep getting a new student and then they just up and leave." He shook his head again. "How confusing." Never mind that Koko was never an actual student. Though, by the way I'd seemed to fit right in with everyone (except Sasuke) that day was like I'd been here for years (I sort of laughed at that).

I looked over at Sasuke. He'd immersed himself back in his book, deeming the class unworthy of his attention for the day and swapping it for something else. I leaned over a bit to get a better look at what he was reading and caught a few sentences or so. _The Rococo witnessed a profound change in taste as has ever occurred in the history of music. In turning to a polished entertainment music—_What the fuck ever! Whatever Rococo was, it didn't seem important to me, and I dismissed it as just another jib-jab word that meant absolutely nothing at all, kind of like the word… blah. Or something like that…

I moved back to lean my elbows on my desk, setting my chin atop my palms. I was bored beyond containment and finally pulled out a sheet of paper to doodle on, letting my mind run rampant all over the paper's blank surface. My hand scribbled out a city scene, a strip of different height buildings like a child would. I wasn't an artist, so it didn't bother me. I drew in a crescent moon floating over the buildings. Above it was a helicopter, flying around in the sky. Several cop cars appeared on the ground, and around them was a crowd of curious-looking stick people. How stick people could look curious, I had no idea. I guess I just imagined them that way. The stick people by the cop cars had little hats on their circular heads and guns in their fork-looking hands, pointed upward at the top of the tallest building in the picture. Atop the building was a little stick person with a scarf and spiky hair, ignoring the three stick dudes behind him. A little speech bubble shot off from him with the chicken-scratched words, "You guys have it all wrong."

"What is that supposed to be?"

My hand instantly crumpled around the paper and I moved to toss my pencil in my backpack. I slung it onto my back and got up to throw the paper away.

"Nothing," I said to Sasuke.

His hand caught my wrist and Iruka looked over, the last person in the classroom. The bell had rang? I hadn't even been paying attention at all. I'd been so lost in my crappy doodle to notice anything else. I turned back to face Sasuke, trying to muster up a glare, but failing miserably when I only succeeded at looking confused. Why was he trying to keep me from going?

"What do you want?" I asked him, annoyed. He let go of my wrist and it fell uselessly to my side.

He didn't look up at me when he gathered his things and said, "I'm coming over today."

"I work today."

He stood up and slung his backpack on, jamming his hands in his pockets as he walked past me. "I'll wait for you to get home."

I raised an eyebrow at him, wanting to protest, wanting to yell at him, _No, I don't want you to come over!_ But that would be a lie if I ever knew one. I just nodded, not caring to wonder if he'd seen me or not. But somehow I knew he'd know I'd agree to it, and I just continued out the classroom behind him.

* * *

"I'm off!" I called to Soya, who was working somewhere in the back of the store.

"Kay!" she called back. "You didn't forget rabbit food, did you?"

"Nope! Got it right here!" I felt inside my backpack a bit to make sure I _did_ have it. It was there, along with some food and whatnot I took off of my paycheck.

"Last thing I want is for you to kill a rabbit," she said, emerging from between some isles. She smirked when I scowled at her. "Taking good care of… what was its name again?"

"Suko," I said plainly. "And yeah, I'm taking care of him." In fact, the damn rabbit was spoiled. I was constantly refilling his food and water, yet the thing never got fat, and I spent hours just petting him (mostly for the reason that his fur was so soft, it was easy to lose track of time) and cooing about how adorable he was. I couldn't help it. I guess animals did that to me.

"Isn't that name a little cutesy for him?" she asked. "I mean, it's a boy rabbit, right?"

"That's what you said the first time I told you," I said, "and what I said, too."

She chuckled a bit and pulled out a pack of gum from her pocket, putting a stick of strawberry gum in her mouth, her favorite. "What does it look like?"

I ruffled my hair around a bit. "He's uh, all black with these crazy red eyes." Sometimes, I admit, it was a little creepy to look at him when he stared at you, but I couldn't help it when he was so damn cute. That part, I didn't really like to admit to myself. To admit that something like a bunny was so freaking cute was just embarrassing and shot my ego a bit, yet Suko got to hear it every day, and I'm sure it made him happy, so why not? Even hearing myself go, _"Who's a cute rabbit? Who's a cute rabbit? Suko is! Awh, you're so cute. You're so soft, so silky. Awh, you're so adorable," _made me cringe enough.

"That makes it even more less fitting," she stated, then turned around to go back to work. She waved her hand over her shoulder. "Keep on keepin' on," she said, then disappeared behind some aisles.

* * *

I approached the stairs for my apartment, about to carry myself up them, when I noticed a figure huddled somewhere near the top. I silently walked toward it to find that it was Sasuke, sitting on one of the stairs, feet on the one just below it. His arms were pulled close to him and his hands were in front of his mouth. Even with his hands creating a barrier, I could still see the white fog that puffed out with each of his breaths. He didn't look up from where he was, but I think he knew I was there.

"Sasuke?" I said, and he looked up, startled. But if he was, he quickly dismissed it, sinking back into the normal _I don't care_ look. I sighed, the fog blurring my vision of him for a moment. I stood there, refusing to move anywhere until he stood up.

So he had waited for me like he said. I had expected to come home to the normal emptiness, call out _"I'm home_," to no one, and bask in my loneliness. But he had held to his word and was there waiting for me to get home. By the way he was huddled in on himself, though, he looked extremely cold. It _was_ colder out that night than it had been in weeks. I placed a hand on his shoulder and caught the slightest tremble of chill, but he hid it and stopped by will as soon as I touched him. He was shivering and trying to keep me from noticing.

"How long have you been out here?" I asked him.

He shook his head, standing up and turning to continue to my apartment door with me. "Not very long," he said, voice slightly quaking. His breaths were shallow as he started to talk again. "Just didn't know what time you got off."

I fumbled with the key in the darkness and let him in first.

"You could have asked," I told him as I tossed my backpack somewhere on the living room floor. He shrugged and sat on my couch as I closed and locked the door. I tossed off my jacket onto the couch's armrest and moved into the kitchen. I could practically hear Sasuke's teeth chattering in there, and his breaths were sharp intakes of air, sounding like hisses against the cold. He must have been out there for hours to be that cold… He never took off his coat, but left it on to attempt to warm up. "Take your coat off," I told him. He glared over at me as if I'd just told him to strut naked around the school. "Trust me, you'll warm up faster." Even when the look on his face told me I was crazy, he shrugged it off and set it atop mine. His school shirt was on underneath, and I shivered at the thought of how cold that would be. He instantly looked a bit warmer as my apartment heat kicked in at the right time, blowing hot air straight toward him from the vents. I started up a kettle of water and called over to him, "Want some hot cocoa?"

He shook his head, but one look at his expression told me otherwise, so I made him a mug anyway. When I brought it over to him and took a seat next to him on my couch, he took my mug from my hands quickly, proving me right. I took a huge swig of the hot liquid, but he wasn't as jumpy as me. I watched as he sipped his hot chocolate deliberately, tongue skimming the hot surface to test the temperature tentatively. What, did he think I was going to poison him or something? When he reassured himself, the unsure, cautious sips turned into gulps. "This is really good..." he said into his cup. He tipped it upwards to drink more. When he pulled the cup away, a drop of hot chocolate dripped down the side. He absently licked it up, probably not noticing how provocative it looked as his tongue moved slowly up the side of the mug, flicking slightly off the top.

"Thanks," I said, eyes fixated on his tongue that skimmed the rim of the mug delicately. If it weren't for the absent, nonchalant look on his face, I'd have thought he was doing it on purpose. He definitely was one to tease, and he just loved to get to me. "Are you warmed up now?"

He hesitated, paused in drinking from his mug, then looked over to me with a small nod. The color seemed to be back in his cheeks (as much as his pale, colorless skin would allow) and I took that as a good sign. He set his empty mug on the table and I took them both to the sink and came back to sit next to him.

"I normally don't like sweets," he admitted casually.

I cocked my head to the side. "Then why did you drink it?"

"Well, you made it for me," he stated, "I couldn't say no."

That stirred up a certain warmth in my stomach, and it wasn't from the hot cocoa. Why did I like hearing that? "But you liked it."

"I did."

"So—"

"What did you put in it?" he asked suddenly.

I narrowed my gaze at him. "Do you think I drugged you or something?" I asked honestly. That damn bastard. No one trusted me! Let alone the teme himself! "Cause that's just damn stupid."

"That's not what I said. I asked you what you put in it."

"Oh." I scratched the back of my head nervously, ruffling my hair around a little bit. "Ah, I sprinkled some cinnamon in it."

He nodded. "Hn."

I sighed and leaned back against the cushions, putting my feet up on the coffee table. What was there to say? What was there to talk about? I really couldn't scrounge up anything to tell him or ask him, let alone, _That Karin is such a bitch._ Now that she was gone, I really didn't want her coming up ever again, even in just a conversation. I didn't want her to be a part of anything more.

Unfortunately, my itch for knowledge got the better of me.

"So what happened with Karin?" I asked, the words coming out of my mouth before I had a chance to stop them. I mentally bashed my head against a wall.

His eye twitched at the name and he grew more tense. It seemed her name was taboo, but I couldn't help myself from asking. He shifted in his seat.

"She had to leave," he said.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"Ah."

I blew out a huge breath from my mouth.

"Will she be back?"

"No."

I sighed heavily. His answering was just _so_ detailed, I couldn't take all of the interesting details! Now, I was mentally bashing _his_ head against a wall.

"Why wouldn't you talk to me?" I asked. At that sudden moment, I had caught his attentiveness. Though he didn't look over at me, I could see a look of concern flash over his face for even the slightest moment before it slipped away. His hand on his lap tightened into a fist, scrunching up the fabric of his jeans. His lips pressed together into a straight line. When had I started to notice all of these little things more?

"It's complicated," he said simply, attempting to leave me at that. No one ever got out of explanations with those words, as far as I knew. Especially with an Uzumaki.

"You're good at explaining," I said, recalling his presentation the other day in homeroom for our project (which I'd spaced out for most of), and all of his times explaining things in our other classes.

"I don't want to."

"Why not?" I complained. I nudged him with my hand, but he swatted my hand away quickly. I flinched at the harsh contact and pulled my hand back to me. I leaned closer to him. He wasn't going to win this. "Why not?" I asked again, forcing the words on him. "Why wouldn't you talk to me? I mean, yeah, I know it's normal at school, we never talk to each other unless we're arguing, but I mean, even outside of school, you never even bothered to see me. At all. After that party, and Sunday, you were this… this completely different person! And I didn't like him at all! That Uchiha is the asshole I don't like." I took in a huge breath, realizing that I'd never stopped to breathe during that whole mini-rant. I crossed my arms across my chest. "You don't have to be such a teme about everything."

Suddenly, he was closer to me, practically leaning over me. I pressed my self closer to the couch to put some distance between us, so that I could look at him clearly. He lingered nearly above me, staring me down.

"What did you call me?" he asked, the answer obvious in his eyes. Yet still he stayed where he was, hovering.

"Teme," I snarled to him through my teeth.

Instantly, he had seized my mouth with his, closing the space between us so quickly that I hadn't even noticed it happen. He kissed me with force, running his tongue along my lip feverishly. I pretended he didn't and refused to open my mouth. He pressed himself onto me, crawling and shifting to position himself so he sat on my lap. He pushed his hands up the front of my shirt, and I hissed at his still cold fingers. Damn, did he ever warm up? The bastard was always so cold! He tugged my shirt off of my head and let his hands lie flat on my chest.

Suddenly, he pulled back from kissing me, letting his hands linger where they were. His expression was something between a scowl and a smirk. There was something mischievous hiding behind his eyes, but I couldn't quite see what he was getting at.

"Don't call me that," he demanded.

I grinned up at him. "Call you what?" I asked jokingly. "A… teme?"

With an irritated groan, he lowered himself to kiss me once more. One of his hands reached around me to pull me closer to him. He stopped kissing me for a moment to growl a low, "Dobe."

I pushed his hands away from me but didn't stop the kiss when I pushed his shirt over his head, upset when out lips had to separate for a small moment. They were instantly reattached and the kissing resumed, more heated this time as he pressed his chest to mine, the warmth generating between them becoming a catalyst. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him closer to me, not tolerating any kind of distance. Of course, I was extremely upset when he pulled away from me to catch his breath. I didn't care about breathing. Not as long as I had him near me, contact between our skin, his lips on mine. Nothing else really seemed quite important in comparison.

"Teme," I said again, glaring up at him. He took the invitation to yank at the waistband of my jeans, not bothering to unbutton them. He pulled them down, the friction unpleasant on my hardening cock. I wasn't going to be able to hold out any longer, I could tell.

"Stupid dobe," he said, grinning at me. When the hell did he ever grin at me? Tch, I'd show him.

I sat up, knocking him off of my lap, and tackled him so that he fell backwards on the couch, his head landing on the armrest. I fumbled with the button and zipper, and he laughed at me as I had difficulty undoing them. Finally, I got them undone and pulled them off of his legs harshly, tossing them somewhere to the side. I forcefully grinded my hips against his, now loving the rubbing between us. He seemed to, too, by the way he threw his hands up to wrap around my neck. Still, though, he was silent as he pulled me closer to him and I continued the rubbing, and I moved to attack his neck. I licked the flesh there languidly, then took it into my mouth, biting and sucking it. His grip around me tightened and he grabbed a fistful of my hair. I bit harder when he pulled my hair, and he let out a sharp sound. I smirked against his skin and pulled back when I realized that the mark was a lot darker than I should have let it get. I grinned at how huge it was and how much of a hard time he'd have hiding it. His fangirls were going to have bitch fits about that one.

I moved my hand to rub against his hardening member through his boxers, and he let out a small moan. I was just fucking loving how _submissive_ he was being. _Loving_. I kissed him lightly on the lips, smiling when, as I pulled away, he pushed himself up to kiss me for longer. Still, even as much as I didn't want to, I pulled back. I sat up off of him for a small moment to pull his boxers down and drop them on the top of the couch. I took his cock in my hand and started to pump slowly. He attempted to stay silent, determined not to let me hear him.

"C'mon, Sasuke," I said, smiling slightly. "Let me hear you."

His hand was brought to his mouth, lingering near his lips. I pulled it away with my free hand, interlacing my fingers with his. I quickened my pace with my other hand, and his grip on me tightened. The hand that didn't have mine in it was rested on my back and he pulled me closer to him. I pumped even faster, and finally, a small sound escaped between his lips. He instantly bit them to keep from making any more noises and betray himself further.

He should know that Uzumaki Naruto wouldn't stand for that.

I removed my hand and scooted farther down on my couch. I positioned myself to take him into my mouth, licking from base to tip, using my tongue, and now able to take him fully into my mouth without choking embarrassingly like the first time. I found a steady, fast rhythm and sucked on him while taking his balls into my hand, rubbing them and moving them around. His hand held onto mine even harder, nails digging into the back of it. That was going to leave a bunch of horrible marks. I didn't care, though, because now, he was moaning loudly, his voice filling my apartment.

I sucked faster until I was sure there was no faster than that. Finally, he let out a loud cry and came right into my mouth. Me, being the loving, darling person that I am, swallowed it all, avoiding making a mess… kind of.

His breathing was ragged, eyes half-lidded when he looked up at me.

"That's a good teme," I said cutely, smiling down to him. He glared at me and turned his head away. "Awh, don't be like th—" He yanked me down by my hair and kissed me harshly, his tongue exploring my whole mouth in depth. He hands moved to pull my boxers off of my legs and toss them somewhere. I was sure they landed in the kitchen and it would be quite awkward to pick them up later. He wasted no time and got right down to business pumping my cock with his hand. Even when I was on top he was good! I rested my forehead on his shoulder, refusing to let him win. I started to bite at his shoulder, sucking and leaving more marks there, something to keep my mouth busy, something to prove my dominance. With every little thing I did, he pumped faster. I let out a tiny moan into his skin but refused to give up. Even though he was finished, I started to pump his dick again. He thrusted his hips a bit and let out a loud sound.

"Aah!" he shouted, pumping faster at me. I moaned against him and he moaned back, even louder. Now, it was a contest to see who could make the most noise. Our cries were filling my apartment, encompassing everything in it, taking up all of the empty space. I was sure that the neighbors could hear us, and even their neighbors, and—hell, the next few complexes could probably hear us.

"Ahh, yeah!" I yelled, starting to move my hips. My knees threatened to give out on me but I willed them to keep me up.

"F-fuck!" His voice was still louder than mine, something I would never think possible. I was always the louder one, when it came to _anything._ This was the loudest I'd ever heard him, and it was unnatural. He came into my hand again and I just used it as more of a lubricant, never releasing my grip until finally, I came, the warm liquid shooting out onto his stomach.

Finally, after we showered the sweat and cum off and stumbled over to my room to knock out on by bed, the two of us had admitted both defeat and victory.

* * *

**There's something about the "c" words that bother me. Cock. and Cum. I don't know -_- Anyway...**

**NNS NNS**

**Read on everyone, and pleasant days!**


	16. Exhausted, Frail Hearts

"When I was a child, you captured my devotion.

**Doumo. Sorry it's been awhile since I've updated. I've had so much going on recently. And we're moving! Yay! Anyway, I'm hoping to upload chapter 17 soon, so keep your eyes open!**

* * *

"I spent so many hours exploring mixed emotions.

All of the time you spent away from me,

All of the missed opportunities.

_I'll always love you_…"

-**Bird & The Bee**, _Diamond Dave_

* * *

**SUNDAY**

"Come on!" I said, the huge grin plastered on my face only growing wider with each second. Sasuke scooted farther away from me on the edge of my bed and finally stood up to back against the wall. "Come onnnn!"

He scrunched his nose up in distaste, practically scowling at the thing in my hands. "Get that nasty thing away from me," he demanded, but it only made my smile grow. I took more steps toward him and chased him out of my bedroom, into the living room, and into the kitchen, where he backed up against some cabinets, holding his hands up in front of him as if to ward me off. Pah! Nothing was going to keep me back now! Not when I was so close! I pushed the thing closer to him and he jumped up to sit on the counter, cowering. Sasuke was _cowering,_ an _Uchiha!_ I grinned more and pulled the thing back close to my chest, worrying if I was moving him around too much.

"Awh," I said in a mocking baby-tone, "is widdol ol' Sasuke scurred?" I leaned down a little to whisper, "He's scared of you, Suko!" I rubbed the charcoal-colored bunny between his ears and he closed his crimson eyes at the touch.

"I am _not_ scared," he declared, crossing his arms across his chest defiantly.

I raised an accusing eyebrow at him. "Are you sure?" I asked. He nodded once to show his place. Hah. I suddenly moved Suko closer to him and he flinched backward. "Ha! You are too scared!" I stood so that his knees that dangled off of the counter pressed into my stomach so that he wouldn't go anywhere. "Come on," I told him, "just pet the dang rabbit."

"Get that filthy creature away from me," he demanded.

I made a mock-surprised face and gasped. "Don't call Suko that!" I leaned down to say to Suko, "He didn't mean that, Suko, he's just a fraidy-cat, is all. He's just too scared to jump in the water, cause he's a scared widdol kitty, yes he is." I rubbed between Suko's ears again and he shut his eyes in contentment, his nose ceasing its twitching for a small moment.

"Don't call me that," he said, still pressing himself against the cabinets.

"Then pet him," I said, holding Suko out to Sasuke, just inches from touching him. He stared at it with semi-wide eyes. "Go on." His fingers twitched but he quickly set them back on the counter. "It's just a rabbit," I said, rolling my eyes at him. He sure did have a flair for dramatics when it came down to it.

"I know it's just a rabbit," he spat at my harshly, but I ignored it. I knew he was just frightened of Suko, but it didn't mean that I couldn't be amused. I made sure not to let go of Suko when I held him up. "Just… take it out of the kitchen."

"Oh yeah." I turned around and strolled over to the couch, sat down on one end, and patted the space next to me, surprised when he actually sat there. I set Suko on my lap and scratched between his ears absently. "Here," I said, "pet him while he's on my lap."

He started to move his hand toward Suko, but when Suko turned his head to look at the impeding object, Sasuke quickly flinched back. "I can't," he said.

"Of course you can," I told him. He was being ridiculous. "Here, if he hops onto your lap, you have to pet him. Okay?"

He hesitated, but said, "Fine."

I smiled and nudged the back of Suko lightly. "Go on, Suko," I said to him, urging him to hop forward. "Go on and hop over to Sasuke. He won't bite. Promise." Sasuke scoffed and I elbowed his side. I nudged Suko one last time and finally he gave a few small hops right onto Sasuke's lap, stopping to inspect him thoroughly. He sat there, still, nose twitching. "Pet him," I said. When he sat there frozen, I grabbed his wrist and let his hand plop onto Suko's back. He began to slowly stroke his fur, and eventually, Suko's nose stopped his twitching. "Aw!" I said, sounding like a creepy little girl. "He likes you."

Sasuke didn't reply, though. He seemed lost in Suko's fur. "He's so soft," he said quietly.

"I know," I said, smiling. "I keep him clean." I rose from the couch to leave him petting Suko.

"Where are you going?" he asked, still petting the bunny.

I picked up the bucket-carrier-thing with all of my cleaning supplies in it that I'd left out from my cleaning spree earlier that day. "Just putting things away," I told him, shoving the bucket in the closet in the tiny hallway. "Don't get your panties in a bunch." I smirked when he glared at me and I moved over to swipe Suko off of his lap.

"Hey!" he complained. "I was petting him."

"Says the one who didn't want to pet him in the first place," I mumbled as I set Suko back in his pen and closed the door. Sasuke followed me into my bedroom and wrapped his arms around my waist, burying his face in my shoulder. "Since when were you all cutesy?" I said, chuckling. Suko probably thought we were freaks.

"Hm," he said, muffled by my neck. He rested his chin on my shoulder. "Since you exposed me to that rabbit." He pulled me closer to him and I rested my hands over his.

"Sure, sure."

"What?"

"Nothing," I said, smirking. I turned my head to the side and kissed him softly, nothing totally erotic, no tongue, just a kiss. I leaned my head against his and we stood there in silence for awhile, with him just hugging me. I wondered if he could hear my erratic heartbeat, but his was at a normal pace, beating steadily on my back. He probably could, because I figured the magical Uchihas could do anything now (even adapt to rabbits), but I didn't care.

* * *

There was something behind me.

I could definitely feel some kind of presence behind me, something lingering, something refusing to leave me alone. It was following me, tailing me, almost even tracking me as I walked home from work. I'd felt the same thing when I was at work, too, the same exact presence. It hadn't changed much over the day, but it was something dull, and for all I knew, it could have been a damn bug or something with how small its presence seemed. But… it seemed to have a purpose, as if following me were deliberately planned. No bug or small animal would just randomly follow me. Definitely not.

I stopped dead in my tracks and tossed a glance over my shoulder carefully, making sure to pay attention to what was in front of me, too. The last thing I wanted was for another thug to pop out and try to mug me—AGAIN. I scanned the alley behind me, seeing nothing. I even looked up at the balconies and the edges of the roof, just in case it was a stray cat trying to follow me home. When I saw nothing, I shook my head and kept on walking, making sure to keep my guard up.

Even after checking all around me numerous times on my way home, I never found anything to be out of the ordinary and continued on home. Though I still couldn't ignore the feeling in my gut, the paranoid part of me reminding me to watch out, because creepers be lurking. I had this dying urge to search every object I passed by just to make sure I wasn't being followed, but anything with that small of a presence was impossible to be a person.

I kept on telling myself that, but a part of me didn't want to believe it.

* * *

That one part of me wanted to reach out and screamed at me to tell someone about what I'd been feeling. Particularly, it wanted me to tell Sasuke. I had this dying urge to blurt out to Sasuke that someone was following me, but that wasn't entirely true, and how would I even prove it, anyway? I would just come off as overly paranoid, and that was annoying. And the last thing I wanted was for him to want to fucking protect me or something. I got all worked up and irritated just thinking about it, but when the image of Sasuke with a cape and spandex and his underwear over his pants came into mind, I started to laugh out loud at my own stupidity and wild imagination.

"What?" Sasuke said, walking at my side, our arms brushing together slightly.

"Nothing," I said. I looked up to him and the image disappeared suddenly. I was going to miss that Sasuke… _Not._ "I just thought of something really funny."

He looked down at me with an eyebrow raised, probably wondering what the hell I was talking about, but not caring enough to ask about it. He figured it was another one of my stupid ideas, and yeah, I guess it was, so I kept my mouth shut.

"Are you coming over?" I asked him, though it was obvious that he was, since he'd walked out the back of the school with me and we were already about halfway there. He just nodded and we kept walking the way to my house. By the time we got there, my hands were nearly frozen off. I knew it was going to snow soon—even a groundhog sitting in his hole could tell that—but I had no idea that it'd be so soon, and even start to snow on my walk home. Sasuke had offered his coat to me, seeing how cold I was, but I didn't want to be like, _Yeah, let me just borrow your jacket. Then we can start holding hands, kiss in public, and skip around and sing merrily like we're in a cheesy musical, and somehow, it'll start to rain perfectly on cue… 'cept it's already snowing… _So I refused.

I made a couple mugs of hot chocolate and brought them to the living room and he started into his immediately. He pulled another small stack of movies out of his backpack and held them up to me.

"Pick one," he said.

"You carried those in your backpack?" I asked. He'd brought them to school just so he could come here and watch them with me? How… dare I say it? How cute.

I passed up the first few movies easily—a horror film about spiders, another stupid-looking romance, and a historical-based action movie—to choose the last one. I plucked it out of his hands and inspected the case with dying curiosity.

"I should have known you'd pick that one," he said, stuffing the other three back into his backpack. "Typical of you."

"Where did you get this?" I said, ignoring his snarky comment. I turned the case over and started to read the description. Yep, this had to be what I thought it was. I flipped it back over to the front and looked at the new poster picture they'd made for the case and skimmed right over the actors' names at the top, not giving two craps what their names were.

"It just came out," he said.

"But it was just in theaters like…" I counted back on my fingers for a second and he rolled his eyes at me. "Four weeks ago."

He nodded and got up to put the DVD in. "You're quite the sharp one," he said sarcastically.

"Shut up!" I said, crossing my arms. "I just mean.. doesn't it usually take longer to come out on DVD?"

He shrugged. "I have my ways."

"You're a pirate," I said plainly.

"A what?"

"A pirate."

"I am not."

"Then where did you get it?"

"My father knows people," he said, and by the way he said it, it marked the end of the topic. I turned away and hit play on the remote, and the movie replayed in front of us.

And yes, it was still as crappy as it was the first time, and still as awkward to watch the sex scene, even more so with Sasuke. It was like… watching porn or something. It was just… awkward. I squirmed in my seat uneasily, startled when he set his hand on my thigh and squeezed it lightly. I turned over to look at him curiously and he caught my lips with his.

"You're so damn romantic," I said, rolling my eyes. He scowled at me and kissed me again, just a few cute, light pecks.

As he left, he kissed me on the forehead, making me blush slightly, and I kicked myself in the head mentally for it.

"Ah, be careful," I said, not sure what to say to him. I sounded like a worried little girl and it made me blush even more.

"Sure," he said, and turned around to walk home.

* * *

"And that's why Napoleon _blah blah blah…_ and Egypt's military got _yaddah yaddah… _And Britain went and _this is so totally unimportant, why am I even trying to get through to these kids?_" The words coming out of Iruka's' mouth were boring me to near death. I lied my forehead on the cold surface of my desk and attempted sleep. I just wasn't getting enough of it lately.

That feeling kept following me. The feeling that there was someone behind me at all times, watching me. I kept telling myself over and over that it was probably a stray cat that wanted to follow me home or something like that, but I just couldn't believe it. It'd first happened on the way home from work the day before, and it happened again that morning as I walked to school. Every time I would turn around or turn to where I felt it, it never fluctuated or moved. It just stayed in that same spot… It was really odd. I could feel it so strong now that it was almost overwhelming. Of course I was used to there being a lot of people around, like at school, but this thing, this animal, this person… was following me. That, for sure, I knew, and would definitely check out again as I walked home from school that day.

To top that off, Sakura wasn't talking to me. Period. I'd said, "Good morning," to her again that day, and she ignored me. Her momentary gaze was icy cold, her eyes widening for just a moment before turning the other direction again. This time, there was no sympathetic look from Ino. She seemed just as cold.

I shrugged it off, thinking that it would pass soon, but it only continued to get worse as the day went by. She didn't even sit at the normal table at lunch with everyone. She convinced Ino to sit somewhere else with her, and I was sure she was avoiding me by the angry glares I'd receive from her every once in awhile.

What was her problem? If she was mad about the other day with Karin and Sasuke, I was trying to _help_ her. If she was mad because I insulted her precious Sasuke, that was just… sad. That was pathetic. I felt bad for thinking of Sakura as pathetic, but that's what it was. Her glares only intensified in heat every time I uttered so much as a word to Sasuke, making me wonder what the hell was going on in her head. If she was mad at me for insulting him, and we were more or less getting along now, why would she be giving me the cold shoulder and the fiery scowls?

Maybe it's _because _we were getting along. Come to think of it, everyone had been treating me a little weirdly ever since I'd walked into the room and sat down to chat with Sasuke. _Chat._ Sasuke hadn't even held back on talking, either, and everyone eyed him with extreme wondering. No one had ever seen him talk so much in the whole time they'd known him probably. Of course, I hadn't either until just recently, and really, the only thing we talked about was the movie, which I didn't see to be so weird… Until I realized the question in their eyes. _They watch movies together?_

So, as hard as it was getting to be, I sat completely silent in my seat, dead set on setting things back the way they were with everyone, when everyone knew me and Sasuke as the enemies, not the guys who went and watched movies together.

I turned to see Sasuke taking notes like the diligent student he was. He stopped writing every now and again, only writing what he thought was important. Two fingers of one hand rested on his temple, the others bent to rest against his cheek, while his thumb supported his chin. He looked like a damn pretty boy.

"Geek," I mumbled, not even noticing I'd said it until he turned to glare at me.

"Excuse me?" he said harshly, words like darts coated in acid. They shot into my chest and I just stared at him for a moment before getting a hold on my bearings again.

Where had I seen this happen before?

"I said you're a damn geek," I said, louder this time, causing a few people to turn around. Iruka stumbled in his lecture but did his best to pretend I never said anything, hoping I would just stop right there, knowing that I wouldn't.

"What's wrong with having a brain?" Sasuke asked rhetorically. He set down his pencil and fixed his reading glasses on the bridge of his nose. Did I ever mention how damn good he looked in glasses? I could see myself reflected in them and I looked just… awkward. Like I had no idea what I was doing.

Eh, I didn't.

"I have a brain!" I fired back. Somehow I felt he was being serious, and it was irritating.

"I use mine."

"I use mine, too! Ugh!" My hands had balled into fists at my sides now and I was fully turned toward him.

He shrugged, picking his pencil back up.

"Idiot."

That… that wasn't serious, was it?

I didn't have time to decide on that, because I'd already tackled him to the floor of the classroom and I was already on top of him, attempting to punch him in the jaw. Every hit I tried to take, though, he blocked expertly, even after I'd tried to pin down his arms with my knees. He easily toppled me over and took control of the scuffle. He landed a blow to my head, but not enough to really hurt as bad as they usually did, and I thought he was trying to spare me. In a way, that pissed me off. I knew that he hadn't _really_ meant what he said (but I still thought he had), but the fact now that he was holding back? Ha, yeah right! Sasuke was the only guy I could fight in the school that could match up to me. Kiba was no match, and none of the other guys who wanted to randomly pick fights with me (or that I wanted to randomly pick fights with) had anything in them—though I'm sure that if he wanted to, Chouji could really hurt me. So really, it was _fun_ fighting Sasuke, and now he was holding back. So I gave it my all and he gave it his all, too. He dragged me up by the collar and punched me so hard that I stumbled backward into the classroom wall. I shook my head to rid the stars from my view, but he was there instantly, pulling me up by my collar again, holding me against the wall. He had a snarling look on his face, and for a moment, I could swear his eyes flashed a crazy red color. I kicked and pulled at his hands trying to break loose, but his grip was practically law.

I was just getting into the damn fight, too, when Iruka finally broke it up. Sasuke wouldn't spoil his perfect student's reputation, now would he? Other than a small fight or two, here or there, he just couldn't keep fighting me when Iruka told us to stop. He relinquished his grip on me and let me fall to the floor.

"Don't you two ever get enough of beating the crap out of each other?" he asked rhetorically.

"No way!" I answered, even though he hadn't been looking for one. He smacked his forehead with his palm and started to massage his temples with his fingers.

"What am I going to do with you…" He sighed heavily and thought for a moment. "Naruto, Sasuke, go to the dean."

"Right away, sir—wait. Go where?" I said, having mistaken his words for _the principal._ But that definitely was not it.

"The dean," he repeated. "Both of you, go to the dean, _now_."

I flinched back at his words a bit. "Th-the… the dean?"

"Don't make me repeat myself again," he said. "You know where the dean's office is. Go there. Now. And if you sneak off, I'll find out. Better yet." He turned around and scanned the class. "Sakura?" he said. She perked up slightly, but then turned to pretend that she hadn't heard him, scribbling on her paper. "I trust you. Please escort them."

Sakura slumped in her seat, and without looking up, replied, "Yes, sensei."

Iruka turned back to us. He gave us a stern look before turning back and picking back up on his lecture where we'd interrupted—or rather, where I'd interrupted. Sakura pushed past us to go out the door and we followed behind her loosely, hands jammed in our pockets.

The dean… I'd never been there. Even in all of my years here, I'd never seen the dean, not once. I never saw him walking around the school, never saw him at events, never saw any pictures of him around or in the yearbook. He was the ominous figure that lurked over the whole school like a giant, ready to deliver justice where it was needed. Hardly anyone had ever seen his face (or her face), and anyone who had was always expelled from the school, never to be heard from again on strict isolation or something like that. I know it sounds crazy and far-fetched, but that was just the way it was.

I wasn't afraid, though. I knew that I could conquer this damn dean, whoever he was, and I would stay at this school! The same could be said for Sasuke, I'm sure. There was nothing I couldn't take down! Except for a math test.

Sakura didn't stop when we entered the main office and kept walking down the separate hall on the side. Shizune looked up from her desk and narrowed her eyes at me.

"Are you here to see Principal Tsunade?" she asked me particularly.

I shook my head. "Just passing through," I lied, turning around to make a break for it. Sasuke's hand shot out instantly and caught me by the collar. He dragged me behind him to walk backwards as he and Sakura continued to the dean's.

We kept walking down the long, long hallway that seemed to only extend with every step we took. We passed the nurse's office, and I peeked in for the second I walked by. The nurse and the kid with the huge gash on his knee both looked to us with looks of resentment, as if they knew where we were going. Next thing I knew, they were going to mourn. Sasuke still hadn't let go of my collar, but I'd moved to walk next to him so that his arm was halfway draped over my shoulders. His grip relaxed a bit, one of his fingers drawing lazy circles on the back of my neck. I shrugged and his arm fell to his side, and I almost missed it being there. Finally we came to a stop at the very end of the hallway, the very last door being the one we had to enter. Sakura knocked a few times and we all waiting, the eerie silence piercing the air.

"Come in," sounded a man's voice from the other side. Sakura opened the door for us and stood there to hold it as she ushered us through in silence. She flinched back when I walked by her, pushing herself as close to the door as possible. I brushed against her on purpose and she turned her head, biting her lip roughly as if to keep herself from making any noise or uttering any insult. As soon as we were in there, she turned to leave, but stopped when she heard her name.

"Thank you very much, Ms. Haruno," said the dean from behind his desk. As if from some cliché mafia movie, he was turned to face the wall behind him in his chair that had a high back and hid him completely. The only thing I could see as I sat down was one of his feet that lied on top of his other knee, clad in a black original Converse shoe. This guy was a professional? I almost laughed.

Sakura froze by the door, and without turning back, nodded, then continued back to the classroom.

"Please," said the dean, "sit."

Sasuke and I listened to him and took the two chairs in front of his desk. I leaned back in mine and propped my feet up on the dean's desk, whereas Sasuke sat straight up with proper posture in his.

"Tell me what happened," said the dean. I'm only calling him _the dean_ because there was no nameplate, no diploma, nothing in the room telling me his name. So for now, he's just _the ominous dean who is yet to be named._ Or, for short, _Dean._

"Are you going to turn around, or what?" I said, sounding totally rude and off, but I didn't care. It was rude of him to sit there without facing us.

"You're right," he said. "My apologies." He spun around in the chair to reveal a man that hardly looked fresh out of college. He had a young-looking face—from what I could see of it. He had the whole bottom half of it covered with some weird black fabric that practically fit to his features. He donned a crisp white button up, the cuffs undone and sleeves rolled up, and plain black slacks. He had this wild silvery hair that stood up mostly to the right, kind of in a spiky way. Some of it hung down to cover his left eye, and—wait what the hell?

I jumped up from my chair. "What the hell are you doing at my school?" I yelled at him.

He raised his eyebrows at me. "I assure you that I have no idea what you're talking about," he said.

"Yeah I do!" I exclaimed. "You're… that guy! From that movie!"

He smiled—at least I think he did—and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his desk. "That's very flattering," he said, sounding pleased, "it's nice to know someone thinks I'm good looking."

I grimaced at him. "What! I didn't say that!"

"You implied it."

"Ugh! Shut up!"

"Please sit down," he instructed, voice taking on a serious tone. I refused to—not in the office of some freaking creepy porn star!

"Sit down, dobe," said Sasuke, sounding bored.

After a few moments of uneasiness, I sat in the chair again. I wrung the hem of my t-shirt in my hands, unsure of what else to do, trying to keep my hands busy.

"So," said Dean, "I'm afraid Naruto was right—not about being in a movie, though. I have been terribly rude. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm dean Hatake, but let's kick the formals here. You can call me Kakashi." I cocked my head at his introduction. What the fuck kind of name was Kakashi?

"I'll call you dean Hatake," said Sasuke blandly.

Kakashi eyed him with a light curiosity. "As you wish," he said, then, seeming unbothered, continued. "I already know the two of you. Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto."

"Who doesn't know me?" I bragged, scoffing.

"Don't be so sure of yourself," said Kakashi. I glared at him, but he ignored it. "So, tell me about this fight you two had."

I sighed heavily and leaned back in my chair, propping my feet up on his desk again. "This asshole," I said, jerking my thumb over to Sasuke, "thinks he's such a hotshot." Kakashi didn't seem to mind the language as much as Principal Tsunade did, I noted. It would be easier to talk about things in here—maybe that was what made it harder to get out alive. I mean, not expelled.

"Hm," was all Kakashi said. He nodded once and wrote something on a piece of paper. "And you, Sasuke?"

"He's an imbecile."

"Am not!" I yelled at him.

"Quit yelling," he said. "It's useless."

I practically growled at him when I gripped the edge of the chair in my hands. "Go to hell."

"Drown in your stupidity."

"Bastard!"

"Moron."

"Prick!"

"At least I have one."

"_Teme!"_

"_Dobe."_

"Boys." Our heads snapped to the side to look at Kakashi again. Or, at least my head did. Sasuke had never turned to look at me, deeming me unworthy of his eye contact or something. I narrowed my gaze at Kakashi as he seemed so at ease. Tsunade would be at our throats by now, screaming at us to stop and threatening us with expulsion. Yeesh. I almost shuddered at how unnatural it seemed to be in this office. "You still haven't told me what happened."

I crossed my arms and looked over to Sasuke. "Why don't you tell him, Mr. Perfect?" I said sarcastically.

"Gladly," he said. "I was taking notes like I should have been, and suddenly, this fool tackles me to the ground and tries to hit me."

"I see," said Kakashi.

"That's not all of it!" I yelled loudly at him.

"Then why don't you tell me all of it?" said Kakashi, seeming to be smiling again behind his mask thing. They actually let him wear that to work at the school? They didn't think he was in some part of a gang or something? Because if a kid wore a bandana, he was automatically _in a gang._ But if the dean wore something similar, he was just… the creepy dean.

But… shit. I'd really stuck myself in a pickle there.

"He was taking notes," I started, mapping my plan out as I talked. "like he said. I called him a geek, and—"

"So you started it?" he asked, his gaze seeming to penetrate into my brain. My fucking _brain._

"Uhhh," I said, not sure of what to say.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said, writing some more stuff down on a paper on his desk. He nodded toward Sasuke. "You may go."

"What!" I shouted, sitting up in my chair. "That's it! You're just going to let him go like that, cause you believe him!"

"Pretty much."

"This is bull!"

Sasuke didn't utter a word before leaving the office and going back to class.

I looked back over to Kakashi behind his desk. "What's up with this!" I asked him loudly.

"Naruto," he said calmly, "I'm expelling you."

My jaw dropped. He couldn't be serious. He couldn't be! I can't get expelled for that… can I? Ugh, this sucks, this sucks, this sucks. The next nearest school is Suna, and like hell I wanted to go there. After that was Ame, and no one went there, hardly, and it rains all of the time… Or there was that correctional school that I could be sent to, the one for "bad kids." What was it called again…? Oro… Some guy's name that I couldn't remember… Orochi… something or other… School for "the Ill-Behaved student…" Or as everyone called it, "School for bad boys," because it never accepted girls. Which was a tad creepy, in my opinion.

Shit, no, no, no, nooo…

"Just kidding!" he said brightly, smiling (I think) again.

"Uhh?" I said in confusion. He did all of that just to joke around with me? "What's up with all of the adults and tricking me like that!"

"I thought it was funny."

"Well it's not!"

"I have an odd sense of humor."

"I'll say!" I scoffed and rolled my eyes at him and leaned back in my chair again. "This is riduiculous…"

He pulled out a new half-sheet of paper from a file in his desk and filled in a few blanks. I recognized the format immediately as just a detention slip. He finished it and ripped off the yellow copy, handing it to me. "Give this to your homeroom teacher, Iruka," he instructed, "and I'm sure he can come up with a proper punishment."

"Why can't you come up with anything?" I asked him skeptically. Why leave it up to Iruka?

"Trust me," he said, "you don't _want_ the Kakashi punishment."

"Uhh… What."

"_A Thousand Years of Death,"_ he said dramatically.

I stood up abruptly from the chair and started on my way out. "Sounds painful," I said, suddenly having the urge to cover my behind, and opened the door to leave.

"Have a nice day~" he called as I left the room. I cringed as the sound of his WAY-too-happy voice echoed in my head. What a total creep…

I glanced down at the detention slip. Under the notes section was written in neat handwriting: _Come up with something appropriate, Iruka sensei~_ and a little doodled heart. My eye twitched and I folded the paper into several pieces, wishing I'd never looked at that. When I finally handed the paper to Iruka, I could swear I saw his cheeks deepen several shades of pink when he read it.

What the hell kind of messed up shit did they have going on?

Ugh. I was being hypocritical.

* * *

I swear, with all of the detentions I'd had before this one, Iruka knew my whole damn work schedule, so he always gave me detentions on Tuesdays, and now a Wednesday. How he figured out that I now had Wednesdays off was beyond me. I guess that teachers had a creepy way of knowing things like that and dismissed it. This new detention was scheduled to overlap with the one for fighting Kiba the week before, so Iruka decided to just make me do my least-favorite thing—clean. Go figure.

He sent me to the janitor's to pick up a mop and bucket and another bucket of several cleaning supplies, and he instructed me to clean the whole classroom—_yes, the whole classroom._

When I'd groaned in annoyance, he added, "At least you'll have a friend with you."

That was when Sakura walked into the classroom. "Sorry I'm la—" She stopped in her tracks and let the door close behind her. To be honest, that was the first time I'd clearly heard her voice by itself for days, and it was strange hearing it again, even though she wasn't talking to me. She stared directly at me, but her gaze seemed to extend further, focusing on something more important than me.

Iruka didn't notice the thickening of the air between us and gathered up some of his things. "I have to run," he said, "I have some things planned…" I glanced over to him quickly and noticed his cheeks turning that same pink color again and refused the urge to gag. Sakura seemed to notice a bit, too, and even though she had no idea what it meant, her eye twitched a bit. "I trust you guys not to trash this room… Or at least I trust Sakura not to."

"Hey!" I said.

"Sorry, Naruto," he said, shrugging. He picked up one last big binder, then decided he didn't need it and set it down. Finally, he looked down at his watch and decided he didn't need anything in his hands and set everything on the table in the front. "I've gotta go. Do a good job. Maybe this'll teach the two of you your lessons." And with that, he was gone.

Sakura went straight to work, breaking her eye contact with me and dipping the mop in the bucket right away. She was silent, her lips pressed into a straight line, ignoring me. I hesitated, simply watching her for a few moments. Eventually, she stopped and held the mop upright next to her. Without looking at me, she said in a bored monotone, "Are you going to work, or what." It wasn't a question, but more of a statement of sorts.

I shook my head, not in disagreement, but to shake some thoughts out of my head. What had Sakura done to get detention? "Sorry," I said.

"You should be."

I ignored that comment and followed her suit, getting some all-purpose cleaner and getting to work cleaning the desks so that they could be moved and Sakura could clean the rest of the floors. Finally, the desks were all pushed up against the wall, some stacked on top of the others, and she finished the floor and got to work drying them. I wondered why it was that she picked the most laborious jobs to do—cleaning and drying the floor—and left me the easy ones such as cleaning the desks and the board. Nevertheless, I did as I was supposed to and cleaned them to the best of my abilities. I was still sort of in a cleaning mood anyway from my big cleaning day on Sunday, and they came out better than expected. After I finished that, I grabbed some glass cleaner and started to clean the windows.

There was an eerie silence for a long time, and even as I was reaching the last few windows, the sun was starting to set. I wondered if they were allowed to keep students that late at school then figured I didn't care, and I'd much rather be in here cleaning windows instead of being shipped off to that behavior-correctional school. Shit, what was it called again? Someone's School for something or other… Troubled Youth… Yeah! Whoever the hell made it.

The windows were taking forever. I'd already used plenty of paper towels just cleaning what I had, and there were still a few more left to be done. I should have figured this was coming when nearly that whole wall of the classroom was windows, and they were so huge.

"Naruto?" came Sakura's tiny voice from across the room, catching me off guard. I glanced over my shoulder. She'd stopped drying the floors momentarily to talk to me.

"Yeah?" She was talking to me. _Don't mess this up_. I kept on cleaning the window I was at while occasionally glancing over to her, waiting for her to continue with what she had to say.

Her hand tightened around the small towel in it, and her other curled into a fist on the floor.

"We're friends, right?" was her question, so plain, so blunt, so to the point.

I chuckled lightly, but sounded utterly perplexed when I answered, "Yeah, of course we are!" I smiled over to her but she never looked up.

"You wouldn't… hide things from me, right?"

I stopped cleaning the window for a moment. "No," I lied, and after I said that, I felt terrible. "Well… It really depends on what…" I scratched the back of my head nervously.

"So if I were to ask you a question…" she stopped and shook her head as if not wanting to continue. "Would you answer me truthfully?"

"I can't say I will."

Her head bowed down lower. "I'm going to ask anyway."

There were several moments before she actually spoke up again, leaving me to wonder just what it is she was going to ask me about. Could if have been about Sasuke? With the way she was acting around the two of us recently, I wouldn't have doubted it. But what she asked was something totally different, something on a completely new playing field.

"Are you a ninja?"

More silence.

What was I supposed to say? _Yeah, Sakura, I'm a ninja. In fact, I'm the most wanted one on the town right now, and it's kind of been that way for awhile._ My mouth opened a bit, but no words came out. I was almost about to say what I'd just thought.

"No," I said, turning back to the window.

"It's okay," she said, "I know."

My hand froze with the paper towel on the glass. The setting sun was brighter than usual, the light hurting my eyes if I didn't squint a little, and my eyes were wide open. I looked down and to the left a little, trying to get a grip on what she was saying. I felt my hand tighten around the paper towel, crushing it between my fingers until it was just a ball. My heart started to beat faster, pounding crazily hard and quick against my chest, as if I'd just run several marathons, each without time between. As if I'd just run from the cops again. I set the can of cleaner down on Iruka's desk beside me and continued to stare down at the floor.

How could she have known? She wasn't the spy type, and she seriously couldn't have been a ninja herself. No, she didn't know. I told myself that over and over, and eventually, I started to believe it, that she was just joking or lying to get to me. She wanted to get under my skin for something, and this was the way she was going. There was no way she could have known.

I turned to her with a wide smile on my face.

"You're funny," I said, maintaining the grin. "Me? A ninja?" I laughed a little and picked up the can of cleaner again and went back to cleaning with its _new, non-streak formula!_ "You know me, Sakura! I'm way too lazy to be a ninja. I mean, haven't you ever seen them on TV and movies and stuff? They're crazy fast, and so coordinated. I'm too clumsy to do any of that." I laughed again, the light sound filling the empty classroom and easily loosening the atmosphere a few knots.

She chuckled, _barely_, a tiny, almost inaudible sound. Her mouth broke out into a small smile for the slightest moment, then disappeared as soon as I'd caught a glimpse of it.

"I guess you're right," she said, shaking her head. "I shouldn't have thought that."

"Hey, hey, no worries!" I said in my normal, upbeat tone. "Anyone could have made that mistake."

It instantly grew just as quiet as it had been before, and stayed that way until I finished the seemingly thousand of windows. I stood back to admire my work, then realized I'd started in the middle and forgotten a whole half of it, sighed, and went right back to work cleaning them.

"You know," came Sakura's small voice from behind me, sounding slightly unsure of herself. "I wonder…" She drifted off for a moment, making me think she wasn't going to continue on, so I kept cleaning windows. "I wonder why I didn't see it before," she finished at last.

I cocked my head at her statement. "Hm?" I said. What was she talking about? She wasn't still going on about that ninja stuff, was she? No, the tone of her voice was different from before. I scrubbed ferociously at a small spot on the window by Iruka's desk that just refused to come off. _Damnit, window, you're going to get clean if I have to clean you with a laser._

"I mean, it's right in front of me. Practically in my face. I just didn't _want_ to see it." Her voice was slowly growing more steady as she was sure of what she was talking about.

Finally, I got the stubborn mark off the glass and moved to clean some more windows. "What are you thinking right now?" I asked, nothing but pure curiosity lining my voice. Damn, these windows were dirtier on the inside than they were on the outside! I wondered how often they were cleaned—if ever—and was actually sort of glad that I was doing it. Just _sort of_.

She chuckled a bit and I turned to look over at her. She'd stopped drying the floors for a moment, and was just staring at the floor with a small smile on, but I could tell it was fake, even forced, but it lasted a lot longer than the last one, yet slowly faded with her words.

"Do you think he's going to stay with you, Naruto?" she asked suddenly, the expression on her face retreating slowly from the fake smile to something dark, someplace unventurable.

"What—"

"Do you really think that Sasuke is going to stay with you," she interrupted, and I jumped at the sound of Sasuke's name in that sentence. "…The scum of Konoha, the bale of everyone's resounding anger, a _monster!"_ Her voice quivered with every word and her hands had balled into fists on the floor, one around a towel, knuckles turning white. Her calm breaths had turned into heavy, shaking huffs of anger as her hands supported her and lifted her off of the floor. "Do you think so?"

I barely gasped. I couldn't say that I wasn't truly shocked. I was actually knocked breathless by her barrel of questions. How did she know? About… _both_ of those things? The _scum of Konoha _bit could only have been referring to how I was the most wanted criminal. It couldn't have been anything else. And the part about Sasuke _staying _with me… It couldn't have been that obvious, and if anyone thought much of it, they were only ever joking. Like Kiba at the party, calling us lovebirds. It could have been the same mistake that everyone made with Ino and Sakura when they were just rivals, but friends. It was just a mistake. I could have told Sakura that she was making that kind of mistake. I knew I should have, but something told me not to.

I let the long, everlasting, eerie silence of the empty school pass by, then let out a sigh of breath. I took a step towards her and reached my hand out. "Sakura—"

"_Do you!" _she shouted, the rough sound echoing throughout the room. The step I'd taken was retreated and my hand snapped back at my side like a rubber band that was stretched way past its limit.

I never broke my eye contact with her, but her eyes darted around frantically, not sure whether to focus on my face or the things around the room. Her hands grasped the hem of her skirt, wringing the fabric, a nervous habit I was sure that she wasn't completely aware that she had. Her teeth were clenched, gritting together as she bared them without meaning to.

"I…" I what? I really wasn't sure what to say. I knew that it wasn't rhetorical. She definitely wanted an answer, and it was clear she wasn't going to wait any longer for it. I had to think of something, and quick.

"I know about you," she said, words stinging with a harsh acid that I had never before experienced—not on these levels. "_I know all about you!_ So don't think you can lie to me anymore!" I could see tears threatening to flood over in the corners of her eyes, the way the entire bottoms welled up, but she kept them wide so none would spill out. She didn't even blink. For awhile, that's all it was. She just stood there, maybe waiting for me to say something, maybe not. "I… I thought we were friends…" she said quietly.

The emotion behind her words nearly killed me. Before she'd said that, all I'd heard was the pure rage that she shot at me, using the anger to fuel the fire behind her words. But when she'd said that, she was pouring her heart into it, I knew. She sounded so sincere, so truly heartbroken, so betrayed. I just couldn't take it. I let my line of sight drop to the floor.

"I do think so, Sakura," I said suddenly. I didn't lift my eyes to meet hers, because I knew that in those depths of blue-green seas, I would only find roaring waters that threatened to consume me, drown me. "I do think that Sasuke will stay with me." My voice was even, unwavering, unfaltering. I was sure of what I was saying then. "I may be a fool for it, but I really do think that." I scratched the back of my head as if urging the words to spring up. I was just talking as I went along. Nothing was pre-planned… As if I'd ever asked for a thing like this to happen in the first place… "Why?" I said, asking the question that she was without a doubt too scared to say. I chuckled and shook my head. "I really couldn't tell you that…" Sakura was rendered speechless by now. I continued, staring off at the tiled floor, tracing the cracks and creases with my eyes. "Sasuke isn't like that," I explained. "He isn't the type to just desert someone because they're different. He…" I paused to think of some words and string them into random sentences. I started to ramble on, shoving down the urge to express what I was saying with my hands. I clutched at the sides of my pants nervously, wringing the fabric with my fingers, a nervous habit that she and I shared. Keep your hands busy, that's what it was. "He really isn't as cruel as he can look sometimes." An image of Sasuke cowering from the small bunny in my hands floated into my mind and I chuckled a little bit at that, too. She probably thought I looked crazy. Anyone would. "He looks menacing, and his glare is damn near perfect, but he's not like that. He's sincere. He has feelings, too, and good ones at that. Sasuke, he…" I searched the tiled floors for something to say. I tilted my head, not even wondering, or caring at this point if Sakura were listening anymore. "I really think he'll stay with me," I stated again. "Because when a person like him finds someone… When I find someone like him… He…" I drifted off, words rendering useless.

A dead silence rang in the air, stiffening the atmosphere, filling its void with some jelly-like substance, making everything thick and uneasy. I really didn't know what to say there, then, and she just stared. I opened my mouth to say something more, but closed it again when I realized that not a single word came to mind. The silence seemed to engulf every thought that sprang out of my head, and every time I thought I had something to say, it vanished.

The door opened silently behind Sakura. My eyes flicked up and Sakura eyed me with question.

"He'd stay with that person, solely because… he needed them, too. He'd know that, together, they could be better… stronger…"

Sakura turned around to see Sasuke standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe less than casually, almost as if he was exhausted from something.

I didn't even stop to wonder why he'd been there in the first place, how long he'd been there and what he'd heard, or even why he'd decided to show up, even at this moment. The only thing that passed through my mind was that he'd stolen the very words from the depths of my mind.

Sakura blinked once. Twice. Not even the sounds of our breathing could be heard in the strange vacancy of the classroom and the hallway. Sasuke didn't move for the longest time, his eyes fixed on the floor that I was supposed to help Sakura clean ages ago, but she took up the job herself. Finally, he unlatched his shoulder from the doorway and strode over to stand next to me, being careful not to brush against Sakura even slightly. He stopped at my side, not daring to do anything so much as place an arm over my shoulder or even hold my hand, but the light touch of his hand on mine for even the briefest, tiniest moment, I'm sure, was his way of assuring me that everything was under control. Sasuke had this.

"Sasuke," Sakura breathed at last. That was all she said for awhile, until, "What is this?" Her eyes pleaded, begged for him to tell her what she'd been waiting to hear. In her heart, _I'm sorry, there's been a mistake,_ would be the ideal way for Sasuke to respond, but in her mind, she knew that it wasn't going to happen that way. She was brilliant, so she could surely see it, but she turned her cheek to it.

"This is Naruto and I," Sasuke told her.

I saw her heart shatter.

"You…" she stopped. Her distressed jade eyes flicked to me for a millisecond. Back to Sasuke. "What did you call him?"

"Naruto." My breath hitched in my lungs for a moment at the sound of my name coming out of Sasuke's mouth so many times. I was just a random passerby, an observer, not participating in the conversation much at this point, yet I was being pulled up so frequently, so it was hard to not be a part of it.

"Why?"

"Naruto and I are in a relationship," he said.

Hearing him say it was like a tidal wave. For me, it took me to a river of newfound glory, of never having heard him say the words like that before. Neither of us had ever admitted it straight out like that. It was always just… _this._ There was never a title for it, but now it seemed there was.

It was a strikingly new thought.

I had somebody… Somebody to call my own. I had a person who, whether he admitted it or not, cared about me. He was mine. Mine to hold, mine to kiss, mine to do whatever the hell I pleased with, so long as it didn't get me punched. He was never too far, but he remained close to me.

Always?

Shit, I… I hoped so.

Whereas those words for me were a tidal wave of fucking joy, for Sakura, it dragged her into her own whirlpool, drowning her and everything she'd followed and believed to be true for as long as she could remember.

"Ah." Sakura's legs gave out and Sasuke was there before I could register anything to catch her and steady her. She waved her hand at him and he set her on the floor slowly as she wanted. She sat there, knees bent, hands placed atop them. She stared at the tile for a lengthy amount of time and didn't say anything. "So the two of you…" She spoke quietly, like it was a secret, letting the rest of the sentence fill itself in.

Sasuke nodded, as if she could see. But she nodded back in response.

After a few long moments of thought, her head turned to me, a whole new absence of light to her eyes. "I'm sorry, I—"

I put my hands up for her to stop. "It's no big deal, Sakura—"

"But it is!" she interrupted. "I was here yelling at you for taking something away that wasn't even mine to begin with!" She pushed on the floor to get back onto her feet again. "I mean, look at the two of you!" She gestured her hand at us quickly while talking. "You're in love!"

The air tensed. The mood suddenly shifted from something sincere to something really off base and… awkward.

"Now, Sakura—"

"Oh, c'mon!" she yelled at Sasuke, who was only trying to explain something. She'd never interrupted him like that before. She would interrupt me on a daily basis, whether it was that she didn't like what I was saying or that what she had to say was immensely more important than what I was saying. But never, ever, had she dared to interrupt Sasuke. "I've seen you guys kissing," she said, almost furiously, and I was taken aback as she even continued, "holding hands," her voice started to crack, "staring at each other in class." Her eyes started to well up quickly, and I realized that this whole time, she hadn't shed a tear once. She was trying to be strong in front of Sasuke, or me, or the both of us, as to not embarrass herself. "I see the way you look at each other. I know that between classes, you see each other. I know that during classes that you don't have with each other, you meet. I've _seen_ it," she said. "I know what it is. I'm not stupid."

"We never said that you were stupid," I told her.

"Whatever!" she yelled, tears of grief turning easily into those of fury when she looked at me. "I'm stupid for not realizing this before! I'm stupid for going after Sasuke when he obviously has someone already! I'm stupid for not noticing all these things earlier! I've been _denying_ it this whole time, telling myself that it just can't be possible." She tossed her hands around almost violently as she talked, something that we'd been keeping our hands busy trying _not_ to do, which meant that she'd lost all control at this point. "Hell, what do you guys do _outside_ of school, huh? Is there something _else_ that I'm stupid for missing? Hmm?"

"What Naruto and I do with each other is none of your business," Sasuke spat, taking an almost threatening step toward Sakura. She retreated to stand nearer to the desk she was backed up against. Sasuke's hands had clenched into almost fists at his sides, and his expression was dark and menacing, as everyone thought him to be. He relaxed a bit when he saw the frightened look on Sakura's face.

She'd never seen him that way before.

The room had fallen to a deathly silence. There was not a sound to be heard. Sakura had stopped breathing for a second, becoming more timid than she'd ever been. She's always stood up for what she wanted and asserted herself, but when it came to Sasuke, when it came to this… She could be considered dead to the matter.

Sasuke looked over to me. I nodded barely, head tilting not even an inch, agreeing to the unsaid question passed between the two of us in that moment.

"Tell Iruka Sensei that Naruto slacked off and went home," Sasuke told Sakura, deliberately. "Feel free to leave whenever you feel fit, because we're leaving _now_." He looked at me once more, something glinting in his narrowed eyes. His fury, I could see, flickered in apparent scarlet irises that I questioned deeply. He was obviously waiting for me to walk past him. It took me a moment to start, but slowly, I moved one foot, then the other, until I brushed past Sakura, the scent of blooming flowers wafting up from her as I brisked by. Her eyes never broke contact with mine. We left the classroom door open and strode out of the school as if it were any other day, other than the silence.

"We're going to your house," Sasuke said, the growling tone still remaining in his voice, "now."

Our shoes scuffled along the sidewalks at a pace faster than ever before, something just short of jogging.

"Okay."

* * *

We never made it to my house. It was just damn too far for us to get there quickly, and while we were trying to take a shortcut, Sasuke stopped me in one of the alleys. He didn't stop and wait for me to follow suit, didn't ask me or even tell me to stop. Rather, he shoved me forcefully against the wall of the dark alley with no light and pinned me by my wrists, attacked my neck straightaway, and made sure that I wouldn't try to push my way out of it. There's no way I would—how could I say no? But even then, a part of me was saying that this wasn't right. Besides the fact that my common sense had been screaming at me all along that we were both two dudes, of course. There was another reason, something that was telling me that all of this that he was doing was just something out of spite, anger, and all rage-induced. It was pretty much a vent for him, except instead of talking about it or punching some pillows, he took it out with anything violent and sex-related. In an alley. Yet still, none of this bugged me as much as the fact that…

I still felt that same presence. There was no denying that it was definitely there, and stronger now.

While Sasuke sucked at my neck roughly, no doubt leaving several marks that even stupid makeup couldn't cover, I stifled a few sounds and looked around anxiously, hands nearly shaking against his grip. I glanced left and right, and even as far up as I could. As I craned my neck upwards, he took the opportunity and bit right into my neck almost violently and I let out a small cry. Expert fingers unbuttoned and unzipped my pants and a hand slithered in lithely. My back arched at his touch and I fought the urge to shut my eyes tight as he pumped.

My heart was beating faster for various reasons. There was the obvious. And then there was the paranoia.

I knew that it was a person now, a person watching, a person _waiting_. They were waiting on something to act, and what it was, I could never be sure. But what I did know was that they wanted something from me—or Sasuke, even. Perhaps both. I would never be too sure about that, either, even later—much, much later—when it became evident to me who they were. I just refused to think that he was in some way connected to both of us in one way or another.

I refused to believe it.

* * *

**Naruto doesn't believe it O: Now you know something is wrong... xD Hahaha. I'm glad I could get this uploaded, after it's been sitting on my computer for quite some time. I was dying to get Sakura to fess up that she knows.**

**Anyway, let me know what you think, everyone! Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing, favoriting, etc. It means a lot to me! When I get more reviews and such, I'm more motivated to write, and things get uploaded faster. I promise I won't stop writing this, though! I'm almost finished!**


	17. Austere, Eerie Glows

**Agh! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in awhile! I've been very, very caught up with school. Gome, gome.**  
**Anyway, here's chapter 17, FINALLY! I've got the plot going! CAN I GET A WHOOP WHOOP?**

* * *

"You're in a place for fear.  
Lips are for biting here.  
Let's make this moment worth the while.  
Let's kill the night and go down in style!"

-**Good with Grenades**, _Bruises & Bitemarks_

* * *

**THURSDAY**

My whole body seemed to be shaking from the tension. It begged for sleep and retaliated when I didn't grant it by giving me dark under-eye circles and forcing me to doze off in every class—including while standing up in gym. I ached all over, my limbs sore, and no amount of stretching or relaxing was making me feel any bit better. My legs quivered while I stood, making me think that I would collapse at any moment. It had only been a damned day since that encounter with Sakura, and every time I saw her at school, she would quickly evade me or ignore me completely. It didn't dawn on my mind until later that, _oh yeah_, Sakura is a girl and girls usually take a long time to recover from things like this.

I even had Ino come up to me once and start to talk to me about Sakura. It seemed like every time we talked, it had to do with Sakura in one way or another. She strode over to my desk in our Chemistry class and sat on my table, just a bit away from the worksheet that I was trying to avoid. She created the perfect distraction, so I looked up at her expectantly.

"You already know what this is going to be about," she said, her voice flat. She tossed her long ponytail over her shoulder and put her hand flat on the table, leaning her weight on it.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, flicking my pencil around in my fingers. "Go ahead," I said, "nag me all you want. It's not going to change anything."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Is that what you want?" she asked.

I shrugged. "It's what I figured you'd do."

She smiled a little and gasped. "I'm not a nag!"

"I know, I know," I said to her. "I'm only kidding." _I'm only serious._ "So…" I tilted my head to the side, puzzled. "What is it then?"

"She needs time, is all I needed to say."

Wow, Ino didn't have a lot to say for once? I was shocked.

"I mean," _Oh god, here we go, _"we're girls, you know? We take a long time to get over everything. And especially when it comes to guys, yeah, it takes _for-eh-ver._ And I mean forever. Not like you'd really know, but yeah. And when it's Sakura…" She tilted her head back and forth in thought. "We could be talking years here, Naruto."

"Are you serious?"

"Not really, I'm just over exaggerating." _As always…_ "Anyway, it's just that, well, Sakura really liked Sasuke. I mean, she's had this huge crush on him ever since we were kids. And even after all of the times he's turned her down and even insulted her, she still went after him. I thought it was pretty ridiculous, but once you look at Sasuke… Hot damn."

"Get on with it," I said, narrowing my eyes. She didn't need to get all fantasy-stricken in the middle of a conversation.

"My bad," she said with a smile. "As I was saying. She would always just go right back to him, no matter what he always did to her. I can't see why, other than the fact that Sasuke's a total hottie—"

"Ino…"

"Sorry!" she said, this time sporting a huge grin. "And what I'm saying is that Sakura is just… stupid. She's stupid when it comes to guys. She has all of these guys who are willing to be nice to her, like Lee, I guess, but she always just ignores them or toys with their feelings. She needs to get that she doesn't have a chance with Sasuke."

"Ino," I said, interrupting her rant. "Do you even have any idea what's going on here?"

She blinked at me a few times, her silence saying it all. But then she looked around the classroom cautiously and leaned down to say, "I know eeeverrytthinngg."

I cringed. There was no way she knew _everything,_ but at least as much as Sakura did, probably. A slight blush tinted my cheeks and I covered it with my hands and leaned on the table. She just giggled at me.

"Don't worry," she said to me. "Your secret's safe with me." I looked up at her to find her extending a pinky finger out to me. "I promise."

I was stunned. I wasn't sure what to think. Where Sakura had cried and thrown a huge fit of rage and misunderstanding, Ino was willing to accept it completely? And even throw in a _promise_?

Whoa.

"Are you serious?"

She laughed a little, her ponytail bobbing when she nodded.

"C'mon," she said, still holding out her pinky. Finally, I wrapped mine around hers.

"Better be," I muttered under my breath.

"Now look," she said, the tone in her voice changing a bit to something more excited. "I was planning this thing this Saturday…" She started to play with her hair, braiding the ponytail and unbraiding it as she talked. "I know it's a little short notice, but I thought maybe it would cheer everyone up since you've all been downers lately, and it seems really fun."

"Spare me the details," I said, resting my head on my arms. "What are you planning?"

She smiled real wide and said, "The carnival is in town for only this weekend." I started to turn my head the other way. "Wait! Before you can say no, just hear me out, okay? I've already asked like everyone else to go." She started to count off the people on her fingers. "I pretty much asked everyone. You know, Sakura of course, Hinata, Tenten, Kiba, Shino, Neji, Lee, Choji—"

I sat up abruptly and cut off her words. "Did you ask _Shikamaruuu_u_?_" I asked her, dragging out Shika's name and clasping my hands together while blinking at her quickly. She swatted my hands away and scoffed, crossing her arms.

"Well," she said, "I couldn't leave him out, now could I?"

"How are things with you guys anyway?"

Ino had the biggest crush on Shikamaru, and I was sure that I was the only one that had noticed. Strangely enough, no one else had. Leave it to the village idiot to notice first, right? She was going at it the wrong way, though—her incessant bugging and nagging and all around being annoying was just making her seem troublesome, which was exactly what Shika said she was. She was getting nowhere with him, and, if even, making negative progress. If she didn't pick up her game soon, she was going to be another one of Shikamaru's problems that he didn't want to deal with.

She glared at me and I almost felt the holes being burned into my face.

"Just asking."

"Shitty," she declared. "Just shitty."

"Huh? Why?"

I didn't think it was possible, but her glare intensified.

"You really don't know," she said plainly, the black aura swirling around her threateningly.

I scooted backward in my seat. "No."

"It's that Temari girl!" she exploded. I flinched backward slightly and several people around the classroom turned their heads to gawk at her fit.

"Who?" I said stupidly, ducking my head and covering it with my hands, preparing for a smack that never came.

"That blonde girl from Kiba's party." I stared at her with a blank expression. "The one that goes to Suna?" Stare. "She was in a bikini." Staaaaaaaaare. She sighed heavily and smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. "She was with that crazy guy with the red hair."

"_Ohhhhhhhh!_" I said, the sudden realization hitting me, and she rolled her eyes again. "What does she have to do with it?" I asked. Really, what did this random girl have to do with her not making any progress with Shikamaru?

"She has everything to do with it."

"Liiiiike…"

"Naruto," she said, taking on a very serious voice. "Do you remember what her and Shikamaru _did_ at the party?"

I thought for a moment. I couldn't really remember anything, so I went through a replay of everything. There was the music, the food, the pool, and then we all played Spin the Bottle, then Truth or Dare, and then—ohhhh.

"Oh yeah," I said, "they kissed."

"Exactly," she said, planting her fist on her other hand. "And he liked it. You could so tell that he liked it." Now she punched her hand with her fist and cracked her knuckles.

"What are you going to do?"

She grinned evilly. "Oh, you don't wanna know what I'm gonna do…"

"You don't plan on inviting her and pushing her off of the top of the roller coaster, do you?" I asked.

"Please!" she said. "But you're right on part of it. I'm going to invite her." She laughed a little, the sound maniacal and positively diabolical.

"That's stupid."

"What?"

"I'm telling you that plan is stupid." She stared at me for a moment, perplexed. "Look, if you want him to notice you, you wouldn't want her there, would you? You're just making for a competition that you're gonna hate to be in if you lose, because what if you do lose to Temari?"

She sulked a bit. "I guess you're right."

"Damn right!" I said with a grin. "But hell, do whatever you want."

She perked up. "Right! I'll do whatever the hell I want! I don't need you to tell me what to do!"

"Considering I just told you to do that…" I mumbled.

"What?"

"I said, 'So is that all of who you invited?'" I lied, laughing nervously just in case she'd heard me. I'd been prepared to take a smack across the head sometime along the line here.

"Oh, right," she said. "Let's see… I also invited Kankuro and Gaara, because I figured they'd want to come along with Temari anyway—"

"How did you invite them?" I asked. It wasn't like Ino was on close terms with them, and I couldn't see her and Temari being friends any time soon.

"Kankuro gave me his number."

My eye twitched slightly. "Go on," I said.

"I invited Sasuke."

"Go figure," I said, mock-punching her in the knee. "Let's hope Sakura doesn't kill us. Is that it?"

"Oh!" she added in excitement. "I almost forgot the most important person!"

"Besides me, of course."

"Besides Sakura," she said, laughing. "This day is for her, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah. So who is it?"

"One of my good friends Sai. He goes to school around here."

I cocked my head at his name. "Who in their right state of mind names their kid Sai?"

"Whatever!" she said with a huge smile. "Anyway, I was kind of hoping that I could hook Sakura up with him. I mean, neither of them know, but I think they'll hit it off right away, you know? Sai is really cute, so she should get along with him just fine." She waved her hands at the matter.

"I thought she only liked Sasuke's _perfect face?"_ I asked sarcastically.

"Are you admitting that his face is perfect?" she fired back, putting her hands on her hips.

I felt my face flush in heat, taking over my whole cheeks and engulfing me in their flames. I quickly planted my face in my hands, but it was too late. Ino laughed at me, covering her mouth with her hands.

"No," I said. "I was just saying...!" Ugh! Damn that Ino!

"Actually," Ino said, getting over her laughter. If only I could get over this damn embarrassing blush! "Sai looks a lot like Sasuke, to be honest. It's really weird."

What the… The thought of two Sasukes walking around next to each other sprang into my mind and I was absolutely terrified. It was as if he'd been born with a twin. I started to wonder what it would be like if there _was_ another Sasuke, an identical copy, and he'd been with Sasuke and I every time we were together… To save myself from massive blood loss via bleeding from the nose, I shoved the thought down immediately.

"Okay," I said.

"So will you go?"

I considered it for a moment. A few moments, actually. If I said yes, I was dooming myself to an all-day carnival trip with everyone, including Dog Breath, but even worse, including Sakura. I knew that the last thing she needed was to be around me. If I said no, Ino would force me to go anyway. So I just told her yes, and though she was practically jumping for joy that she'd gotten another person to go, she had no idea that I was regretting the decision already.

* * *

The days came and went all too fast.

I learned some stuff about chemical equations, something about triangles, ate more Ramen than I had in weeks, debated getting Suko a bunny girlfriend, kissed Sasuke behind the school during lunch, and now I was leaving work to go home and get ready for the damn carnival. They were lucky I was going. Hell, they would be lucky if I didn't decide to hop town and be a carnie.

Sasuke actually _wanted_ to go to the carnival. I expected him to be more of a cynic like always, or just be a pessimistic bastard and say something like, "_I hate carnivals. They're so troublesome_." But _noooo_. He had to go and say, "It sounds like fun."

We'd decided to go and get some pizza before we went off to the carnival, after my many, many complaints of how much I didn't like carnival food. He had to make fun of me and say that he thought I would eat anything, but really… I could make room if I wanted to eat funnel cake later. I definitely could. And Sasuke couldn't say no to a pizza offer, so I had him right in my hand as we walked over to the parlor.

He took a long sip of his pink lemonade and looked off to the side at nothing in particular, leaning on the table with his elbows. He finally noticed my weird facial expression and said, "What?"

"You _want_ to go?" I asked him, even though I already knew the answer. He just nodded and drank more of his pink drink. I shook my head at him and popped the lid off of my soda to drink it with some ice. I chewed it and ignored the cold taking over my mouth, even as he eyed me curiously.

"Why don't you want to go?"

"What makes you think that?" I said with a snappy pace. I chugged more of my soda and finished it off. As I slammed the empty cup down on the table, he narrowed his eyes at me. I dodged his gaze to get up and throw away our trash from the pizza. He stood up and followed me out, waving his hand once behind him lazily at the guys working behind the register. I guess we were regulars now.

Sasuke bid his way, telling me that he had a few things to take care of and that he would meet up with me at the carnival before we met with everyone else. I hated the distance and everything, but I was glad to spend any time with him at all.

* * *

"Figures you lovebirds would show up together!" shouted Kiba as we joined him and everyone else in front of the carnival entrance. He guffawed and stomped around excitedly and trampled right over to Lee. "You owe me ten bucks!" What the hell was up with Kiba and betting?

Lee fished through his pocket with an unhappy look on his face, but handed him a ten from his wallet anyway with a sigh. "I'm not betting you anymore, Kiba," he stated. "You always win!"

"That's what you say every time," said Kiba, shoving the bill in his pocket with a grin.

"I'll win the next bet," I heard Lee mumble to himself. "And if I don't, Sakura hates me because of my haircut…"

Ino ran up to me too animatedly and leapt on me, giving me her best jump-hug with a loud, "Catch me!" I almost didn't catch her, and I was tempted to let her fall on purpose, but that would just embarrass her in front of Shikamaru and get her angry, so I decided against it. She jumped back out of my grip and smoothed out her skirt that she'd chosen out to wear just for that day. Weekends were apparently great days for the girls clothes-wise, since they had to wear uniforms to school every weekday. "Hey you!" she said with a huge smile. "Nice of you to show up late! We were all waiting for you two to get here. Everyone else is already here. Even Kiba got here before you!"

"Dog breath probably just smelled the carnival food and had to go to it," I told her. I heard Kiba yell something behind me, but I'd tuned him out by then.

"Oh!" said Ino suddenly. "I almost forgot! Almost forgot!" She spun on her heel and walked away through our big group for a moment, then came back with an unfamiliar face.

My first thought was, _holy shit, am I seeing double…?_ I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes to make sure there wasn't just another Sasuke wandering around. Sure enough, I started to recognize key differences between the two and could differentiate between reality and my crazy dreams. _Ahem. _My second thought was, _damn he's white._ My third thought was, _wow, what a creepy smile._ He smiled widely without opening his mouth at all, eyes closed. It looked fake for sure. That was totally something that I could use to tell him and Sasuke apart with. I eyed him awkwardly and actually took a step back. My bad, but the dude was honestly creeping me out.

Ino put her hands on his shoulders and smiled widely, something less creepy than his.

"Naruto," she said, "this is Sai. The guy I was telling you about. Sai, this is Naruto. The guy I was telling _you_ about." What? She was talking about me? I sent her a warning glance and she just shrugged.

Sai's hand extended toward me quicker than I could register and I could only stare at it for a moment before realizing that he wanted me to shake it.

"Nice to finally meet you, Naruto," he said. I hesitantly took his hand to find that it was super soft—but not as soft as Sasuke's. He shook it a few times and let it fall limp to my side. After I didn't say anything back, he looked over to Ino. "He's an idiot," he said plainly.

"What!" I yelled suddenly. I glared at him and pointed right in his face. "Did you just call me an idiot!"

He only continued to smile. "Yes, I did. I'm surprised you heard me." He tilted his head to the side a bit. "You seem smarter than I thought you were."

I was taken aback by this. Who the hell just meets someone and calls them an idiot right off the bat?

"Man, you have no manners," I said.

"Who needs manners?" he asked rhetorically. "I have honesty."

My hands balled into fists at my sides buy I restrained myself from punching him, because that was worse than him calling me an idiot.

"Whatever," I mumbled to him. "Make sure you stay away from me." I turned away from him and walked away toward the entrance, ignoring every comment I heard him make to Ino about me. We all continued through the entrance, paying the fee and being allowed to run wild throughout the whole place.

The carnival was set up in a vacant dirt lot. Game booths were set up in lines everywhere, each with an individual attendant shouting about how much fun their game was, along with a random food booth strewn here and there. There was a big pen set up that held several horses in it, saddled up and ready to be ridden. There were several small tents poking out of the ground and one huge one that I recalled to be called the menagerie. Everyone was definitely going to want to check that out later. I passed by a huge sign that I saw most of the shows that would be playing periodically. Among them were _Freaks in the Flesh, The Artist, The Sword Swallower,_ _The Marionette, _and _The Magic Musician._ There were others on the list that I could have cared less about, and the only one that seemed at all interesting was _Freaks in the Flesh_.

We all attempted to stay in our huge group, but it became too cumbersome and annoying, so we split up into pairs or groups. I could see the obviously irritated look on Ino's face when Shikamaru insisted Choji go with them to go get some cotton candy, but it was instantly replaced with happiness when she went off with two of her closest friends. Kiba grabbed Shino's arm and ran off with him somewhere that I could care less about. Gaara strayed somewhere by himself in the park while Temari led Kankuro in the same direction Shikamaru had gone, and I wondered if it was on purpose. Lee tried to get Sakura to go with him somewhere, but she was too distracted by Sai leading her over to some horses, so he left off with Tenten and Neji instead. Hinata watched Tenten walk away from her without having asked her to go with her, looking extremely lonely. I glanced around to find Sasuke just leaning against an empty gaming booth with his hands in his pockets, then back to Hinata.

"Hey," I said, walking up to her side.

She instantly swiveled around to face me, a slight pink tint to her cheeks. She pressed her index fingers together nervously and looked away for a moment before looking back at me. "Oh, hello, Naruto…" She leaned over to look behind me for a moment. "A-are you going anywhere with Sasuke kun?"

I shrugged. "That bastard?" I let out a chuckle. "He'd probably toss me off of the Ferris wheel or something." She laughed a little, a tiny bubbly sound that lit her face up. "Wanna go on some rides or something like that?"

Her blush intensified as she raised her hands to her face. "I-I… Is that okay?"

"No," I said flatly, narrowing my eyes at her and turning my lips into a fat frown. "It's not okay. Not at all."

She looked away, to the dirt ground beneath us. "Oh. I'm sorr—"

I bursted out into mini fits of laughter, nearly doubling over. I clutched my sides and regained my breath as she stared at me with a distressed, confused look on her face. "I'm sorry," I said. "You know me. I love joking around." I saw her expression lighten instantly and she smiled a little. "Yeah that's totally fine! Otherwise I wouldn't have asked." I took one of her hands in mine and started to lead her along, pretending not to notice the way all of her blood rushed to her face instantly and her eyes widened. "How about the Cat Circus?" I asked, pulling her toward one of the mini-tents. She nodded quickly with a demure smile as I pulled her in to watch. I glanced behind me one last time to see Sasuke smiling and shaking his head, still by himself.

* * *

"Do you like cotton candy?" I asked Hinata. She nodded a little and I asked the food vendor—a guy a little older than us with weird silvery-grey hair pulled into a ponytail—for some blue cotton candy. He nodded and went to the machine to go make some and stick it on a cone. While he was walking over to us, his glasses fell off and he accidentally stomped right over them. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. I felt bad for laughing, but… not really. It was funny. And Hinata still got her cotton candy, so we were happy. After the guy walked away to go get another pair of glasses or something like that, I turned around and leaned against the counter, Hinata following suit. It was still bright outside, not even near sunset yet. The carnival was pretty dang busy, and the line behind us started to disperse when they realized that the vendor wasn't coming back.

"Come see the freak show!" a low voice bellowed nearby. I searched around for it and finally came across wide-set man in a tuxedo standing atop a soap box, shouting to the crowd around him. "Come and see the freak show! The weirdest people you've ever seen! See a man with piercings in every body part!" The crowd around him started to fall apart, some filing into the tent he stood in front of, while others were unimpressed. "But that's not a natural freak, you say? Well, then how about you see our _two-headed freak!_ That's right, folks, this freak has not only two heads, but a half of a second body protruding from his back! Step right in this way and see the _Freaks in the Flesh_!"

My eyes widened at the sound of it, and Hinata's had, too—but not in the way mine had. I didn't really notice it though when I dragged her by her hand over inside the tent, until she caught one glimpse of the freaks and fainted. I felt horrible for taking her in there when I scooped my hands under her and took her out.

"Awh, the poor girl," said the man who had been shouting at the top of his lungs just seconds ago. "Couldn't take the freaks?"

"Guess not," I said. "Do you guys have anywhere I can let her lie down for now?"

"Afraid not, son," the man said.

I sighed heavily. "K then." I carried her off around the entire humongous carnival until I came across Neji, Tenten, and Lee. Tenten looked upset and worried, then scowled at me as if it were my fault… Okay, well it was, but I felt really bad about it! Lee freaked out when he saw Hinata unconscious and almost fell unconscious himself, but offered to carry her. Neji wouldn't let him, of course, and took her into his own arms. He didn't look angry with me at all after I explained what had happened.

"She's weak," he said, and I almost objected, until I noticed the way he said it so caringly. "I'll take her home. Thank you for spending time with her."

"Be sure to tell her I'm really sorry," I told him. He nodded and left the park, and having decided it wasn't worth it if Neji wasn't there, Tenten and Lee left, too. What was wrong with them, I wondered? Maybe their heads weren't screwed on tight enough, because I thought it was much more worth it if Neji wasn't there, what with all of his annoying, "_that was meant to be_" crap all of the time. But maybe they knew a side of him that I didn't. I shrugged to myself and wandered around the park, wondering what there was to do when you were on your own. I played a few games—and lost all of them.

I finally got to this game where you had to knock down some bottles—everyone knows that infamous game. No matter how amazing your throw, hardly anyone ever managed to knock down all three of them. I knew that it had to be rigged somehow and spend ten freegin' bucks failing just to try and figure it out. It was already sunset now, the sky turning various shades of blues, oranges, and purples. The carnival had already turned all of their lights on, and the sight was brilliant. The place became more vibrant, transforming into something more alive as more people started to show up.

"This game sucks," I said to the game attendant absently.

She just smiled and blinked her wide brown eyes at me. "Try again," she said sweetly, tilting her head. Her eyes seemed to sparkle in the line of lights above her and I just nodded and handed her two more dollars. She gladly put it away in a small lock box and handed me three of those balls with the holes in them.

I turned the first one around in my hand. I truly, truly hated those balls (giggle at that and I'll throw one at you. I'LL THROW MY BALLS AT YOU!) for all that they were worth. The just sucked and I didn't like them. I tried to toss the first one, but my pinky finger got caught in one of the holes and decided to launch it off at the worst moment. It bounced off the hard counter and back behind it, where the attendant caught it and set it down off to the side. She smiled at me again and I just picked up the next ball. I stared at the triangle of bottles and finally chucked the ball at it. It tapped the top of the top one and it jiggled a little bit, but stayed put on top of the others. I scowled at it as if it would force it to go down, but it didn't budge. I picked up the third ball and held it in my hand for a moment, staring at the triangle for longer. I pulled back and was ready to throw it when someone's hand covered mine, keeping me from throwing it.

"You're doing it all wrong," Sasuke said, coming up behind me. He kept my hand in his and attempted to show me how to do it.

I pulled my hand away from his light grip easily and frowned. "I want to do it," I said sternly, sounding almost like a stubborn little kid. "I don't need help."

Sasuke shrugged and moved to stand off to the side, probably thinking that if I was going to throw it on my own, I would smack him in the process. "Suit yourself."

I tossed the ball, fully aware of Sasuke's presence. It bounced right off of the top bottle with a tiny _tink_ sound… and no jiggle. I scowled at them some more and how rigged this game was. It was ridiculous.

"Sorry!" said the game attendant. She smiled at me like she had been this whole time, all sweetly, with her eyes closed. "Try again?" Sasuke pushed me aside and fished out two dollars from his wallet and handed it to the attendant. Her smile was turned to him instead, the paying customer, and she set out three balls for him.

He picked up two of them and handed them back to her. "I don't need these."

"Good luck," said the attendant with a smile, placing the balls back in their place. The look on her face said, _you're going to need it._

"Yeah, good luck," I said with heavy sarcasm. "The game's rigged. I spent like twelve bucks and I still haven't even gotten it!" I crossed my arms across my chest and pouted like a child. I looked up at the shelves of various toys that you could win if you knocked the bottles over, not really caring about what was up there. I didn't want to win a toy. I just wanted to _win_. I was dead-set on defying those damn bottles, whatever it took! And I wasn't going to be shown up by Sasuke for it! Nuh-uh!

"Winner!" shouted the game attendant, throwing one of her fists in the air happily. Even when people won it seemed she was still smiling. My jaw dropped as I stared from Sasuke to the bottles that had collapsed to the ground over and over. I hadn't been paying attention so I hadn't even _seen_ them fall! Hell, I hadn't even seen him throw the damn ball! The attendant asked him which prize he would like and he pointed uncaringly toward one of the toys that I could care less about and took it into his hands when the attendant handed it to him. "Good job," she said as she handed the giant stuffed animal to him.

My jaw was still dropped. "How did you—what did—why couldn't—argh!" I started to walk away, pounding my feet on the dirt ground, watching as puffs of it floated up. I spun back around and stomped back over to them, jabbing a finger toward the attendant. "How is it that when I play, I lose six times, and when Sasuke plays, he wins automatically!" I asked her. She shrugged with that same smile. "This game has gotta be rigged!"

"Is there a problem over here?" came a deep baritone voice from behind me. Sasuke looked at him so plainly so I thought that it was nothing to be intimidated by.

"You bet there is—" I kind of froze when I met him head-on.

He was huge, and I don't mean obese. He was at least two feet taller than me, if even more. Even though his black sleeveless shirt hung loose on him, you could tell there were terrifyingly huge muscles under there. His arms that were crossed across his chest had defined muscles that made me think he would tear me in half in an instant. If any of that wasn't enough to scare someone shitless, his facial expression surely was. He didn't have any eyebrows, but you could tell that he was pretty damn pissed. His mouth and nose were covered with white wrap, making me wonder what was underneath. Maybe a huge mustache… But I doubted that part.

He didn't scare me, though! Uzumakis aren't afraid of anything! I crossed my arms like he did and said, "That game is rigged!"

"Is that so?" He looked past me to Sasuke with his prize in his hands. "He won."

"That's because he's inhuman."

"And?"

"And…" Well, shit. He had me there.

He ignored my silence, though, and looked to the attendant who was still smiling, but it seemed more real this time as she smiled to him. "I don't think the game is rigged. Do you, Haku?"

Haku (apparently) shook her head. "I made sure to keep it fair," she said, "just like you told me too, Zabuza."

Zabuza nodded. "That's a good boy."

I turned to Haku quickly with wide eyes. "You're a dude!"

Haku smiled but didn't give me a very straightforward answer. He brought a finger to his lips. "You'll never know, will you?" Uh? But… he was so girly! And girly-looking! It was… whoa.

"Now that this problem is cleared up," said Zabuza, "I think it's about time for you to close this game stand up." Haku nodded and shut off every light in his stand, pulled down a metal grate, locked it, and stepped out to join Zabuza. She smiled to Sasuke.

"Enjoy your prize," he said cutely, "you earned it."

Sasuke shrugged. "I guess."

And with that, Zabuza and Haku walked off into the park, leaving me staring after them, wildly curious about Haku's damn gender.

I shook my head and turned toward Sasuke, crossing my arms again. I pouted a little and turned my head to the side, attempting to ignore him. He always had to show me up, didn't he? Even telling Haku that he'd only needed one ball. Hmph.

Something was shoved into me and I was forced to grab it before Sasuke dropped it. He shoved his hands in my pocket, having put his prize in my hands, and started to walk off. I glanced down at the thing curiously, wondering what it was, but not really caring enough to find out.

"Hey!" I shouted at him. "I'm not carrying your stuff for you! Come back here and take this!"

"It's for you," he said, shocking me. I stood still in my place for a moment before following him like a dog.

"Huh?" I said stupidly.

"I said it's for you," he told me. He continued walking without looking at me.

I looked down at the thing I held in my hands. "Oh." I turned it around to get a good look at it. It was a stuffed animal, that much I could figure out right away. It was an obnoxious orange color—my favorite—and an animal of sorts. "A fox?" I asked him, curious.

He shrugged. "Reminded me of you."

I stared at him for a minute, not sure of what to say. Something had reminded Sasuke of me? How… whoa. And the only thing I could say that reminded me of Sasuke was a glass of ice. It kind of made me feel bad.

I grinned widely at him. "Thanks!" Even though I didn't have much of a thing for stuffed animals, I kind of… liked it. And it being from Sasuke made it a lot better somehow. He nodded once as a _you're welcome_. In a way, I guess it was kind of touching. Even though he practically kicked my ass at the game, whereas I threw thirty-six balls and he threw one, it made me sort of happy that he was thinking about me at all.

"Wanna go on the Ferris wheel?" he asked me suddenly, halting in his tracks. He jerked his thumb to the side where there was a tiny line of only a couple people. I weighed out my options, but decided immediately when I came across one important thing—alone with Sasuke. I nodded frantically and he turned to walk up the stairs where the little cart things were loading to wait in line.

Ahead of us were Ino and Shikamaru. Ino winked at me as she took Shikamaru's hand and they loaded themselves onto their cart. Shikamaru looked like he just might have fallen asleep on the slow-moving cart, but I was sure that Ino had more than enough tricks up her sleeves to keep him awake. Finally, Sasuke and I loaded onto the next one, and we took off into the air at a slow pace.

I peered over the edge at the shrinking ground beneath us, at the brilliance of the carnival lights in the dark.

"Wooooow!" I said, sounding like an astonished little kid. I watched as they grew smaller and smaller, the lights turning into little tinkling dots, the lit up tent becoming as small as a toy. I was totally enjoying the view and couldn't tear my eyes from it, but I grimaced when another cart blocked my view. "Ughh, that stupid cart is in my way!" I waited until we moved a little to see who was in it. "Stupid cart!" I shouted at it, even knowing that it wouldn't make a difference. There were two people in it who were close enough to look like they were kissing, their heads tilted and hands around each other and everything. They separated immediately and the one that wasn't facing us snapped their head around quickly to glare at me.

"Mind your own busi-!" But Kiba cut off abruptly when he saw that it was me that had yelled at him. I looked past him to Shino, who'd pulled the collar of his coat up to cover half of his face again and was now leaning back casually, staring out the side. _Holy shit!_ They'd been kissing…again! How many times did I have to see that? Even in the dark I noticed Kiba's blush as he pulled the hood of his jacket up over his head and turned around.

I wasn't going to say anything back to him, but I couldn't resist. "I saw that, Kiba," I shouted lazily at them, chuckling when they were out of view. I turned back to Sasuke with a grin on my face. "They were totally making out," I said to him. He didn't laugh like I did and I wondered if I was the only one that thought it was funny. I cocked my head at the strange look he got on his face.

"Maybe we should follow their lead," he said.

I felt a blush creep across my cheeks and turned my head to the side. "Someone might see us like I saw them, though…" But it was obvious that he didn't care about it because he turned my face to look at him and kissed me softly. I closed my eyes and took my hands off of the stuffed fox toy to wrap my arms around his neck. He scooted to sit next to me and tugged me onto his lap, pulling me closer to him. He slipped his tongue in my mouth, but it wasn't any insane fighting-for-dominance kiss. It was… for lack of an extremely better term, it was sweet. His mouth tasted distinctly like sugar and I wondered if he'd had any of the cotton candy earlier, even though that was unlikely because he claimed to hate sweets.

"Stop!" I heard someone yell. They had to be on the Ferris wheel because it sounded really close. I tried to ignore them, though, because I was way too into that kiss. I pressed myself closer to Sasuke and his arms tightened around me. "Stop it!" I tried hard to block them out, but they just persisted. "Sai, stop touching me!" There was an ear-piercing scream that came after that. My eyes shot open and I pulled away from Sasuke. He didn't seem too happy about that, and he almost hadn't let me go. I peered over the edge of the cart as the one directly across from us came up and into view as we went down. For a moment, I saw Sai, dangerously close to Sakura. She kept smacking his hands away, but he wouldn't move.

I threw a leg over the edge of the cart.

Sasuke grabbed my wrist. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked me, sounding irritated.

"You saw that, didn't you?" I pushed myself out of the cart more and took my wrist out of his grip.

"I thought she hated you," he said plainly, crossing his arms.

I shrugged. "She does." Our cart moved up and I glanced down, waiting for the right moment when the top of Sakura's cart came into view. I timed it as efficiently as I could and leapt from the cart as I barely heard the ride attendant shout at me not to. I landed on top of her cart and stumbled, nearly sliding off of it as it swung crazily from side to side. I finally caught a grip and lied on my stomach, popping my head down to look at them. "Hey, asshole!" I shouted at Sai. Both of them looked over to me immediately, neither of them moving.

"Naruto!" yelled Sakura, obviously surprised. "What do you think you're doing!"

I scratched my head, feeling all of the blood rush to it. "Just thought I'd drop by, you know," I joked.

"_What do you think you're doing!"_

My eyes widened at her sudden tone, something dark dripping in her words. Girls could be damn scary when they wanted to be. "I heard you screaming, and… I thought you were in trouble or something…"

She glared at me evilly, sending mental daggers right at me. If looks could kill, I'd be tumbling right off of that cart. "You idiot!" she yelled loudly, voice flaring up several octaves. I flinched a little. "Naruto, you're so stupid! You're so stupid!"

"I get it! I'm stupid!"

"So, so, so stupid!" She shook her fists as she shouted at me. "What did you think we were doing!"

"Uhhh…"

"Sai was _tickling_ me!"

I thought for a moment. He was… tickling…her? _Tickling! _"That wasn't laughing I heard."

"Well there was laughing!" She shook her head, pushing some hair out of her face. "He was just tickling me!"

"Then why did you tell him to stop?"

"You idiot!" she yelled again. "Girls are supposed to say stop! That's why the guy keeps tickling them! Because it's supposed to be cute!" Obviously, Sakura had had her nose stuck in her romance novels and magazines a little too much recently.

I tipped my head a little, trying not to fall off of the Ferris wheel. "So… you were just trying to be cute for Sai?" I asked stupidly.

"Yes!" Wow, she sure did move on fast.

Sai set his hand atop Sakura's and she turned to him as if she had forgotten that he was there. "It was working," he said. I shoved down the urge to GAG.

She smiled a little to him. "Really?"

"Yes."

Sakura looked as if her heart was about to stop. "Oh!" She giggled happily.

"I'm getting out of here," I said, narrowing my eyes. I scooted up on the top of the cart and the two disappeared from my view just as I saw Sai about to kiss Sakura. God, that was revolting.

The cart came to a stop right by the exit and I hopped off, getting a good scolding and yelling at by the attendant. I waved him off with a _yeah, yeah,_ but he insisted on kicking me out of the park. I stood there and ignored his complaining and shouting, waiting for Sasuke to get off. Finally, his cart came to a stop, and he got off with the fox in his hands. He walked over to me in the middle of my scolding and calmly explained to the attendant why I felt the need to jump off, and he hardly came to an understanding. Even so, the outcome was the same—I was escorted out of the park by two security guards and a fuming Sasuke. Even under his cool exterior I could see the burning coal that told that he wasn't exactly thrilled about what I'd done.

Sasuke handed me the fox as we exited the carnival from where we entered and walked around through the makeshift parking lot of the tons of people's cars who had just recently shown up.

"Don't ever do anything like that again," he said.

"Why not?" I asked, then after he just walked on in silence didn't reply, added, "Is it because you were worried about me?"

He turned his head to the side, ignoring my question. "Just don't do that again."

I smiled a little and hugged the fox closer to me, moving to stand closer to him as we walked, our arms brushing together slightly. "Sure, sure."

Sasuke fished through his pockets for something I wasn't sure of, then finally pulled out what he'd been looking for. I tried to see what he was holding, but it was too dark in the parking lot for me to see anything clearly. To my eyes, it was just a black blob of something that jingled when he pulled it out. It was made obvious when he pressed it and something lit up in the distance in the rows of cars.

My eyes widened as he stopped and walked between two of them, opening a door. Without even looking at the car he was about to slide into, I stood behind it and watched in curiosity, jaw dropping practically to the dirt ground.

Sounding utterly puzzled, I asked him, "You have a _car_?"

He just looked over at me with a plain look on his face, his arm resting casually on top of the open door. Damn, he looked like he was a model or something for a car commercial. It could have been a heap of rusty scrap metal that he was driving and he would have made it look good, I'm sure. I swallowed a lump in my throat. He shrugged once. "Yeah," he answered nonchalantly. I swear I never blinked that whole time. He was looking too damn good from the light of the car.

"Since _when_!" I asked, voice peaking up an octave in astonishment. I'd never once seen Sasuke driving a car around, and he'd never driven it to my house, to school—anywhere.

"Does it matter?" he asked rhetorically, raising an eyebrow at my overreacting.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. Tch. It figures that the bastard would have a car. Of course. "It matters a lot! You know, considering you never drive it around at all, you know. I thought you'd be like the cool kid who shows it off to everyone."

He sighed and rested his head on his hand that was propped up on the car door. The lights were dimming inside now from the door being open too long. "I've had it for awhile," he stated simply. "And I don't like driving it everywhere because gas is so damn expensive."

He was kidding. He had to be kidding, right? There was no way in hell that he was serious about that. The reason that Sasuke Uchiha didn't drive wasn't because of gas prices. "You're fucking rich."

He rolled his eyes at me. "Way to go, Captain Obvious." He took his arm off of the car door and got in the car, closing the door. It was silent and still for a few moments, the only sounds the carnival music in the distance, before he stuck the key in the ignition and it roared to life. I backed up to look at the metal beauty in front of me—a black Shelby Mustang. It was sleek, windows tinted almost dark enough to be illegal but still all power, all muscle, all _amazing._ The driver's side window rolled down and Sasuke stuck his head out and said, "Are you getting in, or what?" My head snapped up to him, almost having forgotten that he was there. I nodded, and I couldn't help but run a finger along the top of it as I walked over to the passenger side. He scowled at me as I opened the door. "Don't put your hands all over it," he demanded as he pressed a button to roll the window back up.

I just smiled at him as I slid in. "But I've never seen anything like it." That was true. It was such a damn awesome car, I'd never been and closer to one than looking through windows at them in car dealerships, much less _sit inside one._ The closest I'd ever got to one was a dream I had that I was driving one, and hot damn, I _never_ wanted to wake up.

"Tch."

"Don't be so stingy."

"Just get buckled." He revved the engine a couple times and looked over to me with a smirk playing upon his face, a sly expression spreading. "I like to speed."

* * *

**Wooooo. I was dying to get a carnival in there somewhere.. I dunno. I just had to reunite everyone and, heheh, even give Sai a little bit in there. Even though.. you know... I made him out to be a dick, but I really like Sai. [sigh]**

**I'll try to update more often soon. Just keep in mind I'm studying for exams and getting the school year wrapped up. I'm also working on cosplays.**

**Oh! And I don't know if it matters or anything, but my birthday just passed! It was on Thursday. :D Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me. I'll buy lots of merchandise, CAUSE IT'S _MY_ BIRTHDAY MONEY.**

**MWAHAHAHAHA-**

**okay.**


	18. Instant, Repressed Confessions

** This is, for the most part, a filler chapter, so it won't make **_**too**_** much of a difference if you don't read it, though I do recommend reading at least the beginning, because it may come up later and I wouldn't want you confused. But again, if you skip it, it won't make that bad of a difference. Sorry for the fillers, but read on~! :D**

_**Warning**_**: Not too much to worry about, except, maybe… a lemon-ish. ISH. Mweheheh…**

* * *

"If we all should die tonight, we will have no regrets. We're all here 'cause we lost control."

-**Innerpartysystem**, _Die Tonight Live Forever_

* * *

My hands tightened around the edge of the seat, my back pressed hard against the seat. I had my eyes closed for a good amount of time, but Sasuke just turned to me in his seat and let out a bellowing laugh. Had I ever seen him this damn happy?

"Why are you closing your eyes?" he asked me with another small laugh. I peeked at him through one eye and he just tilted his head back and let out more laughter. He made a sharp left turn onto a street—I was sure the light was red—and pressed down the gas pedal even more, going faster than before, which I hadn't thought was possible. He sped around the slow-moving cars. "C'mon," he said, "be a good sport."

I slowly and reluctantly opened my eyes. I looked at Sasuke's smiling face for a minute, just thinking about how positively _happy_ he looked. His lips were turned up into a smile, making him look so carefree, so at ease behind the wheel that it was almost refreshing to look at. Then I turned my head and looked out the window at the speeding objects whizzing by so fast that they were blurs. How fast was he going! I couldn't make out a single thing in the blurring visions, so I turned back to look at Sasuke. He turned and smiled widely at me.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" I shouted at him. What the hell did he think he was doing! If he kept this up, we were dead for sure! This car was a speeding death trap!

He rolled his eyes at me. "Don't need to."

"Yes you do!" I argued.

"Who do you think you're dealing with here?" he asked rhetorically, a small smirk playing upon his face. I raised my eyebrows at him in confusion. As if to further his statement, he turned sharply to the right, _still _not looking at the damn road, forcing me toward him. My head crashed into his arm and he just laughed. I scrambled to regain my posture and quickly shot up, grabbing frantically onto the handle on the door. I held my breath as he weaved in and out of traffic expertly, never getting anywhere near crashing into anyone. I stared in shock out the windshield as if I were in a trance. Finally I tore my gaze away and looked over to Sasuke. The smirk remained on his lips and he steered with but one hand. His other reached out toward me and grabbed one of my hands, let them rest on my lap. I squeezed onto his hand tightly and he returned it.

Why the hell was I getting so worked up over this? Sure, sure, I could fight off ruthless (and creepy) hobos, leap off of the tallest building in town and trust myself not to die, and run from the cops for hours at the risk of getting caught and possibly killed, and none of it fazed me. But when Sasuke drove a little too fast… I was instantly thrown off of my axis. What was wrong with me? I was being ridiculous.

Ah, hell, who was I kidding? He was practically driving four times the speed limit, even more! It freaked the hell out of me!

In an attempt to take my mind off of the fact that we could be pulled over or chased by cops at any moment, I reached over with my other hand and turned the radio on, cycling through several stations.

_Yo, here I am, with my low-down beat, this song is sick and I'm a Killer Bee—_ switch. _Sex! Sex! Over the phone! You know I like it!—_as tempting as it was… Switch. _Scream! Scream! Scream! The way you would if I ravaged your body!—_oh dear god… I felt myself blush a little when I looked over at Sasuke and shook my head to ward it off. Switch. _You want it all right NOW!_ Several guitar chords were played along with a hardcore beat of the drums as the words _ultra numb _were whispered, and there was some pretty awesome yelling. I widened my eyes at the radio, and for some reason, could not resist keeping it there and listening to it through. _Violated! So degraded! The show has just begun! _I tapped the heel of my foot to the beat of the song, getting real into it. _Dominated by all you hated! This will make you ultra numb! _I looked over at Sasuke, and he seemed to approve of my choice. His hand tapped the beat on the steering wheel and he started to mouth the words. He knew the song?

"Is this Blue Stahli?" he asked me, proving my thoughts right, but this time not taking his eyes off of the road.

I looked over to the radio shining blue lights into the car and poked the button "MSG." Letters displayed on the screen, _ULTRAnumb by Blue Stahli._ I nodded once and looked over to Sasuke.

"Hm?"

"Yeah," I told him.

"I can't tell when you nod," he said simply, "I'm driving here."

"Whatever!" I said to him, "You didn't have a problem with that a minute ago, when you were turning like an idiot and not even _looking_. And if you're looking at the road… How did you even know I nodded?"

"Tch."_ That's right. Touché, bitch. Let it be known that I trumped an Uchiha. _"At least I'm not afraid of a little speed," he added.

I jerked my head in his direction and scowled at him, but he only chuckled at my reaction. "Whatever!" I yelled at him again. "You're fucking crazy!"

"Thanks."

* * *

Before I could even get my apartment door unlocked, Sasuke had me spun around, a hand in his pocket, another pressed to the door next to my head. He leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips. I tried to prolong it as he pulled away, but he wouldn't have it. I wasn't entirely happy with settling with just that, but I figure it was better than nothing. I could feel a blush creeping on my cheeks and I willed it to go away, but it only intensified with every second that he stared right into my freaking eyes. But that was cured once a hand slapped my cheek—not hard enough to hurt, but a slap nonetheless. It didn't exactly knock the color off my cheeks, only made it worse, but for another reason.

"What the hell!" I yelled at him. What was his problem?

"That was for being reckless," he told me. I glared at his serious expression. What was with the sudden attitude? Then he broke that—kissed me on the lips again, and again I tried to keep it going. "And that's for being an good guy."

So he thought I was a good guy? Heheh… I couldn't help myself—I grabbed onto the collar of his shirt and yanked him toward me, kissing him harder this time, licking along his bottom lip, then pushing him away from me. "Then that's reenacting Tokyo Drift." I turned back around to unlock my door, but the key was caught in the hole when my hand fell from it as I felt a warm breath on my neck, followed by a kiss, a small lick, then a bite.

"That's for being a wimp."

I turned around quickly and pushed him forward to press him against the railing in front of my second-story apartment. I put my hands on his shoulders and kissed him feverishly, pressing my knee between his legs. I leaned forward onto him so that his back was nearly parallel to the ground below us while the rail supported us. As much as I didn't want to, I still pulled away and my breathing was short. "That's for being a dick."

He instantly shoved my back into my apartment door with a loud _bang!_ and kissed my neck again, hands slipping up under my t-shirt through my unzipped jacket. His hands were cold against my chest and I hissed. He bit down harshly and sucked on the flesh, then pulled back, but his hands stayed where they were. He lied his head on my shoulder and waited.

"Any reason behind that?" I asked him.

There was a small silence before he pulled his hands from my shirt and rested them on my hips, kissed me lightly on the lips again. I settled for that being reason enough and urged him to pull away from me for a moment so I could get my door opened. I pulled him inside by the hand and he immediately closed the door behind him. I tugged him over to my bedroom and shoved him on my bed, and he pulled me down with him. I landed on top of him sloppily but pressed my lips to his without waiting. He opened his mouth and I slipped my tongue in, still tasting that slight hint of sugar lingering there.

I pulled back for a moment to both of our dismay, but my curiosity got the better of me.

"Why do you taste like sugar?" I asked him, propping myself up on my hands to look at him.

He shrugged once.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Really?" I asked. "I thought you didn't like sweets?"

He looked at me with a completely serious look. "I had some."

"What was it?"

He sighed. _Oh no._ What was about to come with that freaking sigh? "Promise you won't get mad."

I narrowed my eyes at him and pushed myself up further, then settled for sitting up and letting him sit up, too. "Wh-what do I have to get mad about…?" Where was he going with this? What the hell was he hiding? I suddenly got super defensive and all sorts of things popped into my mind, most of them completely ridiculous like _I suddenly had an epiphany and had to have some cotton candy, I just couldn't resist. _I wondered what he had to say that I could possibly get mad about.

"I was walking through the carnival."

"Uh huh."

"Pretty much by myself."

"Okay."

"I bumped into Sai and Sakura."

_Oh. No._ "And…?"

"And they had their cotton candy and all that. Then Sakura went off for a minute to go to the bathroom."

Oh, geez. That cleared most of my problems… I thought for sure he was going to say that he kissed Sakura or something… God, that was a relief…

Wait.

"What the hell did you do!" I asked him, hands balling into fists on my lap.

"I knew you would get mad…"

"Just tell me!"

"I made out with Sai."

…

I was speechless. Words were robbed from my mouth and mind and I couldn't get a single one out. I stared at him blankly for a lengthy amount of time. He… Sasuke… made out… with… "BASTARD!" I tackled him forward back onto my bed and pinned him down by his shoulders, pushing him into the blankets. "How the _hell!_ What the _fuck!"_ For some reason, an image popped up into my head of Sasuke touching—kissing someone else. And _Sai_ of all people! It disgusted me, it revolted me, it made me want to puke up my insides and kick Sai's motherfucking ass all at once. The look on Sai's face, that stupid, annoying, bottomless stare… I tried to rid my mind of that image, but it only progressed with the two of them, and I cursed at myself harshly for it. And why was I freaking out over it? Why couldn't I just shrug it off and be like, _oh, that's cool, _or even dismiss it entirely? I had to tackle him down, shout and scream in his face, and make a huge deal about it. Why? Well, because it was a big deal! I know that we weren't "official" or anything and that when nothing was set in stone, it wasn't exactly possible to cheat, but if this wasn't what I thought it was, then what the hell was it?

But Sasuke had been the one before to say that we're in a relationship. He said it himself. He said it straight out to Sakura. Had it all been a cover-up? Stretching the truth so that she got off our backs? If Sasuke didn't insanely love me like I loved him, why were we even there together? Even if we weren't together—wait.

Let's back up.

I loved Sasuke? Yes, that's meant to have a question mark on it. I stunned myself with my own stream of thoughts, wondering what had possessed me to think that. I… loved him? _Loved?_ How was that even _possible?_

I kept trying to tell myself that I hated him. _I hate him!—Oh, shut up. Quit lying to yourself. If you hated him, would he be at your house on your bed?...That's what I thought._

"Hey—"

"That stupid asshole!" I interrupted him loudly, trying to shake the conversation I'd had with myself in my head. If that didn't make me crazy, I don't know what did. "You… you touched him! You _kissed_ him! Why would you do—!"

I was broken off of my rant as I saw his serious, stoic expression break into a smile. He tried to hide it for a minute, then finally gave up and bursted into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. He closed his eyes and laughed heartily, laughed so much that his eyes started to well up. I felt the vibration and shakes of him underneath me, but it only made me angry.

I grabbed the collar of his shirt. "What the hell is going on!" I yelled at him. He only continued laughing, even as I shook him under me. He reached up and with one of his hands pointed at me.

"You're so gullible," he said through a huge smile.

I… gullible… What? So he didn't really…

"I can't believe… ah, ha-ha!" He tossed his head back and laughed some more, then wiped a couple tears from his eyes. It wasn't fucking funny! "Oh, god, that's… that's just… priceless." My hands curled tighter around the collar of his shirt as I resisted the urge to deck him right in the face. He could use a good sucker punch or two, and I was just itching to deliver. Still, he continued on his raging laughter.

Fucking bastard.

I leaned down and seized his lips that were still curled into a smile with mine that were pressed into a frown and kissed him long and hard, hands still grasping the fabric of his t-shirt roughly. I forced my lips onto his roughly and refused to separate for a long time.

When I did, he questioned, "Naruto…?" in a strangely light voice, staring up at me in confusion.

I tucked my head into his shoulder and shut my eyes tight, and through clenched teeth said to him, "Don't you _ever_ do anything like that again, teme…" I felt my lip quiver for a moment and a single tear drop onto his shoulder. I cursed at myself mentally for breaking down over a small matter and smacked the back of my hand across my face to rid the tears.

He was there instantly, sitting up and pulling me into his arms. He held me to him tightly, arms encircling me in their warmth. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop the barrage of tears from breaking the dam and flowing out onto his shirt. He smoothed out and tamed my wild hair with his hand as much as he could and sat there, rubbing my back, consoling me. I sniffed and rubbed my eyes and no doubt they were chili-pepper-red by then.

"Sorry," he mused.

I responded with a small, almost undetectable nod, but still kept on crying like a little kid. Talk about a shoulder to cry on… I felt my eyes continue to betray me, and I sniffed a little every now and again as I left a pool of wetness on the fabric on his shoulder. I was being so weak… and he didn't care… he was there to help me, even though he was the one that had made me like that. The thought of him with someone else before would never have bothered me a tiny bit. But now it was like a stab through the damn heart. When he said the words, I felt it. And it hurt. There was a tight feeling in my chest and all of the heat in my body was swapped with a new chill. The thought of being betrayed, led on… it was just too much to bear. This was _all_ too much to bear.

"Shh," he said, and I was wondering what he had meant, when I finally realized that I was making tiny little animal noises. I hiccupped and didn't even bother to wipe my eyes again this time, just let them fall and leave dark spots on his shirt. Finally my tears ended after what seemed like an eternity of crying on Sasuke's shoulder and I wiped my eyes on my sleeve. I pulled away from him and his hand moved to wipe a tear off of my cheek with his thumb.

I gave him a half-hearted smile, but it fell instantly. "Sorry 'bout that…" I mumbled. "I don't know what came over me."

He attempted to return the smile but it looked out of place.

I shook my head a little, then scooted to get off of his lap. "I'm so pathetic," I said, "and so weak just crying about something stupid like that. I must be a real idiot for—"

Suddenly, his lips were on mine again, that same soft kiss I would only get once in awhile, the ones that I always thought had some kind of meaning behind them. He brushed hair out of my eyes and pulled back to look at me seriously.

"That's for being so damn likeable," he murmured.

I instantly pulled him into a hug, wrapping my arms around him tightly and refusing to let go for a long time. "Stay the night."

With no hesitation, he replied, "Okay."

* * *

In many, many different ways, you could say that the morning had a much better mood than the night before had. Sunlight poured in through the windows of my house, even through closed blinds, and instantly brightened up the end of winter's harshness and in turn the atmosphere seemed a lot lighter. I rolled over to find an empty space next to me, though, and that shot me down more leagues than I would think, more than the first time I'd woken to an uncomfortable and unwanted absence of a certain person. I immediately missed the warmth that had been radiating next to me and wondered where it could have escaped to. The sheets there were slightly warm, though, and that gave me an ounce of hope if I knew it. It took me a few moments of being awake to realize that he hadn't left, and that he was still in the house.

How did I know? Well, if the clothes on the floor that he'd stripped out of to sleep weren't a dead giveaway, I didn't know what was. I was sure that he wouldn't prance around town in his Mustang in just boxers. The second clue was the faint scent of eggs, something indefinably sweet, and… I sniffed a couple times. Was that bacon? I smiled a little to myself—who doesn't love the smell of bacon in the morning?—and rolled to let my feet land on the carpet and rubbed my eyes with the backs of my hands. My hands stretched above my head and I let out a long yawn. After a few minutes of just sitting there, I finally scrounged up an effort to stand and make my way to the kitchen. I leaned forward and rested my chin on the tall counter that faced the kitchen and just watched.

In front of me was the stovetop, and sure enough there were a few frying pans on top, one with eggs, one with bacon, and one with something that looked like French toast. Sasuke was facing away from me, plundering through the upper cabinets in search of something. I watched as he stretched his arms upward and retrieved two glass cups with ease (I had glass cups?), observing his flexing muscles on his back and arms. He set them on the counter and moved to the side to open the narrow fridge and scrutinize its contents. There were a lot of leftovers that I'd forgotten to throw away, some milk that was probably expired, and a bunch of ingredients and things that I never much got around to using. He sighed heavily at my lack of content and moved things around, took some things out and tossed them—probably the expired things—and eventually got around to the back where he discovered a jug of orange juice. I remembered bringing it home only Saturday, meaning it was completely consumable. He set that on the counter and pushed the fridge shut, poured two glasses of orange juice. He whizzed around to check on the cooking food and didn't look too surprised when he saw me leaning half-asleep on the counter.

"Look who's awake," he said boredly. He flipped over the eggs and the French toast and shook the bacon around, then looked up to meet my gaze. I took in more of the food's smell, closing my eyes for a brief moment. It smelled heavenly and looked absolutely delicious. I always had eyes that were way bigger than my stomach, and they got the best of me sometimes, and I knew that this was _definitely _one of those times. I'd never seen food look any more mouth-watering than it did then, and I'll be damned if Sasuke cooked it all himself. I was tempted to sniff around the house for his personal chef that he had carted with him here just to fix him up some breakfast—but when I looked back at him and his disheveled hair, the diligence and ease he flipped the food with, I knew he was the one that had made it all. I was skeptic for a moment about it, but I knew.

"Look who decided to make themselves at home," I responded to him with a small smile. I dipped my head forward to lie my cheek on the cold top that matched my counter—I barely had to bend over to lie it there, as it was higher than the rest, a creating a shelf or a window of sorts to divide the kitchen and the living room. Sasuke rested his hands on the countertops on the sides of the stove and leaned forward. The heat licked at his chest and I almost told him to be careful and scoot back when he pressed his lips to mine, kissing me chastely before pulling back. He turned the stove off and started to put the food on two paper plates he'd pulled out beforehand. He set the dirty dishes in the sink and went through a drawer to pull out two forks, stick them on the plates, and walk out of the kitchen. He moved over to my couch and set the plates on it, sat down on floor on the side opposite the couch, and looked over to me expectantly.

"Are you eating?" he asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow. His fork was poised over an egg and he waited to eat anything. I detached myself from the counter and walked over to sit next to him and pick up my fork. I scrutinized the plate of delicious-looking breakfast in front of me. Did he really cook all of this? With what I had in my cabinets, too? Wow. I have to admit that I was pretty impressed. I didn't even know that I had the powdered sugar that he dusted over the French toast.

"How do I know that you're not going to poison me?" I asked him jokingly but coming off totally serious. I threw out my lower lip in a pout and crossed my arms at him. He set his fork down on his plate and half-turned to me with narrowed eyes.

"Eat the damn food," he said demandingly. I guess that I shouldn't have been shocked by the harsh tone of his voice; wasn't I used to it by then? But still, I jumped back a little.

"Yeesh," I said, making a face at him. "Yes, master." I picked up my fork and stabbed an egg, shoving a part of it in my mouth. It tasted like an egg—go figure. But damn, was it still so good. I quickly shoveled more into my mouth, savoring the sweet flavors as I let the French toast sit on my tongue for longer before swallowing it. Sasuke was a fantastic cook—what was up with that? Sasuke surveyed the expression on my face as we ate together in near-silence. Finally, I looked over to him, plate cleaned off entirely. He took his last few bites and I said to him, "That was amazing."

He nodded once to me.

"Where did you learn to cook like this?" I asked him curiously. I was seriously wondering where a child prodigy genius kid like him learned to cook. I'd pictured the only thing that he did was homework and study, and other than that, he'd never had to lift a finger a day in his life, so where would he learn to do something like this? Even in my spare time I'd never learned how to cook anything that good.

He shrugged.

"C'mon," I said, "you had to have learned it somewhere. You don't just pick up some food and automatically know what to do." He brought his gaze to me with a mild amusement lingering in it. I rolled my eyes at him. "Okay so maybe you freak Uchihas do, but I'm not buying it this time!"

He ruffled the back of his hair and it stood up more. "I used to get bored as a kid and wander around my house, and the cook taught me a few things."

I narrowed my eyes. "You have a cook," I said. He just nodded. I blinked at him a few times.

"Is there a problem with that?" he asked.

I shook my head and put my hands up in front of me, like _I give up_. "Nope, not really." I looked back over to him, and he was pushing a strand of hair out of his face. I suddenly got a quick thought and just couldn't suppress the urge… I lunged toward him and took his head in my hands, and pushed back all of the hair that was in his face, raking it backward and holding it atop his head. I smiled at the outcome and laughed a little. He pushed my hands away quickly.

"What's your problem?" he asked, shaking his head so the hair fell right back into place again. I just laughed a little bit more at him.

"Nothing, nothing," I said, "it's just that… when you push your hair back that, and you know, the thought of you being such a good cook… You remind me of a housewife." I laughed more at my stupidity and open imagination, but he only stared at me. "Maybe you can put it in a ponytail."

He gestured at his bare chest. "I certainly do have a _woman's body_," he said sarcastically. I just nodded at him frantically.

"You know," I said, "I think I'm going to start calling you something else, like… _darling._" I bursted into a fit of laughter at the pet name and doubled over a little. He just sighed and stood up, taking the plates and forks. "Where are you going, honey buns? Aw don't leave, sugar lips! I'm just getting started, sweetie pie!" I trailed behind him into the kitchen, still leaving behind bubbles of laugher as he tossed the plates in the trash and handed the forks next to me.

"Since I made such a nice effort to cook this _amazing_ breakfast," he said plainly, "you get to do all of the dishes… _baby._"

"_AUUUGHHHH NOOOOOO_…" My smile died instantly as I took the dishes from him and moped over to the sink. I dropped them in and got some hot water running as he went to sit on the couch.

"Any plans for today?" he asked over the sound of the water. It didn't sound as much out of caring as it did out of just curiosity.

I thought for a moment. "Well, it is Sunday…" I washed some of the pans and let them dry in the other side of the sink while I thought of some ideas, but nothing in particular came to mind. "Maybe we can go somewhere?"

"No, really?" he said sarcastically. "I was thinking we could sit in your apartment all day and do nothing."

I rolled my eyes at him as I dried my hands and ran to jump over him and land on the other side of the couch. He made an _ugh _sound at me and pushed me over, but I just grinned.

"Aren't you the jokester today? Hah, don't be such a sourpuss," I told him. I leaned back on the armrest and tossed my legs to lie on his lap. He shoved them off, but I just put them back where they were. "Wanna go to the mall or something?" As soon as I'd said it, it sounded like a great idea. "I need to go shopping sometime anyway."

He sighed and leaned his head back on the cushion, seeming to be ignoring me. He didn't say anything to me for a long time, and I thought that he really was. Did he hate shopping that much, or did he just not want to be seen with me? "I guess," he said at last, proving me wrong. I perked up instantly at his answer. He looked over at me and looked up and down at my pajama pants. They had a matching shirt that went with it, but I had ripped it off in the middle of the night to be closer to Sasuke. The feeling of skin-on-skin was too much to pass up. He plucked the sleeping cap off of my head that I'd forgotten that I'd been wearing and stared at it for a moment, then dropped it on my legs. "You're going to need some guidance anyway."

"Hey!" Hell, it wasn't exactly a yes, but I'd take it anyway.

* * *

After a long, hot shower with Sasuke—which only consisted of a few wet kisses and emerging with red feet (and red marks along my neck)—he borrowed some of my clothes (we were at least a little close in size, I guess) and he drove us to the nearest mall. I had to admit, he was looking pretty damn good in my clothes. Maybe it was just me that noticed the way my jeans hugged his ass in just the right way and all the right places, but hot damn. I felt like a pervert sneaking glances at it every now and again when we cut through the parking lot to go into the mall, but he never noticed, so I never said anything. I valued my life.

It was hot out that day, a strange occurrence, even if winter _was_ on the verge of ending. Sasuke had shrugged off his leather jacket as soon as we stepped out of the car and tossed it across the driver's seat. I had taken my jacket off, too, and left it on the passenger seat.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked with a quick stride, passing everything in the department store without a single glance. I felt like I should be following him, but I stopped a few times to look at something and he would have to stop with me. I told him that he could keep going without me, but he just said something like, "Then who would help the monkey pick out clothes?"

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"That only makes you look more like a monkey," he said.

"Ugh!" I grabbed one of his wrists, pulling his hand out of his pocket. "Let's get out of this store and look somewhere else." I tugged him along behind me until he yanked his hand away and put it back in his pocket, walking alongside me without my pulling. There were a lot of times where I'd want to go in a store and he'd just shake his head at me. What the hell was his problem! He was so against everywhere I wanted to go, it was almost sickening. Finally I was fed up with him and dipped to the side into a store I wanted to go into without having to receive confirmation from him first. He unwillingly followed after me, scrunching his nose up immediately as the scent of the store's signature perfume and cologne collided and attacked his nostrils at once. I never really got used to it, either, and I wondered how anyone would work there, but I liked it anyway. The lights were damn dim, making it a little hard to adjust sometimes, but I was used to it in an instant. Sasuke still followed behind reluctantly, looking as if he were about to give up and leave me in there at any moment. I took one of his hands in mine and led him through with me, looking through the clothes. Surprisingly, he started to warm up to the environment, even though I could tell even his brain was about to explode from how loud the music was. I resisted the urge to plug my ears every time I went in the store. I picked out a few shirts and Sasuke seemed to like them, too, so they earned an A in my book. I carried them over to the dressing room with him trailing near me.

No one was working at the dressing room, so there was no one there to let me in any of the locked rooms. I sighed heavily and looked around to complain to someone about how dumb they were, but there was hardly anyone around. Still, a few of the rooms were already taken, so I figured I could just wait until one of them finished—

Sasuke walked over to one of the empty dressing rooms. He knocked a few times, then jiggled the handle, and when it wouldn't budge, he kicked the door next to the handle. It swung open and clattered against the inside of the room. He looked over to me with narrowed eyes and pointed at the dressing room. "Get in there," he demanded. And the whole time, the only thing I could think of was, _at least he had the decency to knock._ I skittered into the dressing room and turned around to close the door, shocked to find that he was following me in.

"Why are you coming in here?" I asked him as he shut the door and locked it. He walked to the corner of the smallish dressing room and sat on the stool there meant for another person and leaned back.

"I'm not fucking waiting to get out of this store," he said angrily. "I can't take this any longer."

I scoffed at him. "Alright then." Ignoring him, I stripped my t-shirt off and dropped it in his lap, letting loose a small smirk. He rolled his eyes at me and muttered for me to hurry up. I slipped on the first shirt and turned around to model it. "What do you think?" I asked. I looked in the mirror and scrunched up my face. Turquoise might not have been the best color.

"Next."

I willingly took that shirt off and went to the next one. I pulled a red t-shirt with some weird print on it over my head and looked at myself. "Ugh," I said. That was horrifying. Without even waiting for Sasuke's disapproval, I ripped it off and dropped it at his feet. Some things just looked better on the rack then they did on me.

In one of the other dressing rooms around us, I heard a couple girls giggle loudly. "Gawd," one of them said to the other overdramatically, "you're, like, such a fashion guru! Shut up!" The voice sounded oddly familiar and I tilted my head at the sound of it. When the sound of their chatter with someone else was drowned out by the music, though, I dismissed it altogether.

I moved on to the next shirt right away. I pulled the orange shirt on and smiled at my reflection in the mirror. Orange was _definitely_ my color, and my favorite. There were big, black letters on the front that read _TO PLAY IT SAFE IS NOT TO PLAY._ I grinned at the words, thinking it was pretty damn cool. I turned to Sasuke. "What do you think?" I asked him. "Honestly."

He scrutinized the shirt, told me to turn around, then turn back around again. He tapped his chin in thought and told me to come closer to him. I rolled my eyes, wondering what the hell it took to get his damn approval on a shirt, but still walked closer. "Horrible," he said. "Take it off." He looked up at me from the stool and before I could think about what he was going to do, his hands had slid under the shirt and pulled it up off of my head, dropped it on the floor uncaringly. He wrapped his arms around me to rest on the small of my back and pulled me closer to him, licked one of my nipples teasingly.

"Sasuke!" I snapped at him, attempting to pull back, but he wouldn't let me. I bit my lip to suppress any sounds I could make as he moved from one to the next one. "Wh-what are you doing!"

He looked up at me with a serious look on his face. "What do you think I'm doing?" He went right back to licking and sucking, then ran his tongue along my skin and stood up. He turned me around swiftly and planted me on the stool, straddled my hips and leaned forward to kiss my neck. He didn't seem to notice my attempts to hold back any and all sounds as he left a trail of kisses down my abdomen, the skin becoming hot wherever his mouth landed. His fingers touched gingerly along my skin, ever so light, and I longed for more touch. He slid his way downward as he placed more and more kisses.

"S-Sasuke," I said low, trying to conceal my voice under the blasting music. He ignored me at first but I grabbed the back of his head and tilted it up. He looked up at me unhappily. "N-not in the dressing room… Can't you wait?" He didn't answer me but just stared with furrowed eyebrows. "I can get that shirt and we can leave right now. Or I can not get it and we can leave, or—ahh!" I let out a tiny cry as he pulled his head from my grip and clamped his teeth down on my hip, sending needles of sharp pain throughout me. "Ow, that fucking hurt!" I snapped at him.

"Then shut up," he practically barked the order at me. I looked at him questionably, but he just continued on anyway. He unbuttoned my pants and yanked them off, let them fall to the floor. His hand rubbed my cock through the fabric of my boxers and it was a bit unpleasant. My hands moved to scrunch around the cloth of his shirt on his shoulder blades, partially digging into his skin a little, too, which I could tell he wasn't exactly happy about, but he went on still. I forced myself to sit painfully still and unimaginably silent on the stool as he sucked on the skin near my hip, leaving a dark purplish mark there. My hands tightened around his shirt and I could see my knuckles turning white. I shut my eyes up tight and told myself that I wouldn't even be able to open them again.

Was he so dead-set on doing this in a dressing room? Of all of the places, he wanted to do it in a fucking dressing room of a store that he hated. It bugged the hell out of me, but I would be crazy if I stopped him then, especially with the way my body was reacting to him, particularly the southern region…

His hands tugged lightly at one side of the waistband of my boxers a little, sliding them down but an inch, and leaving more marks there with his mouth. He did the same a couple more times, never quite getting my boxers down far enough. Damnit, he was teasing me! I bit down on my lip as he slid down the other side and did the same, and I was starting to look like a freaking checkerboard with all of the hickies he was leaving. He was still moving slowly, languidly, leaving time between spaces before he ever got my boxers down. He was just pulling them off my ankles and taking me into his mouth, when—

There was a loud, bone-rattling knock at the door. I jumped up quickly, but Sasuke's hands on my hips held me down on the stool as I leaned back onto the wall behind me. Who the fuck would knock at this time!

"Excuse me," said a girl's voice, barely audible over the deafening music. "Are you almost finished? There are no other open rooms." Shit! The other rooms had filled up? That must mean that someone was working in there now, and emerging with Sasuke and a hard dick now just was _not _an option. I looked over to the door and could barely see through the tilted wooden slits, designed so that I could see out and they couldn't really see in. There wasn't much I could see, though, except a girl standing there with clothes obviously in her hands. Fighting the urge to shut my eyes, I shifted my gaze up more, and saw a small flash of pink, which I thought was a scarf or something, but why did I care?

"A-ah," I stuttered, then cursed at myself lowly, but mostly to Sasuke. He just kept on his rhythm of sucking me off. I grabbed onto his t-shirt harder, fingers digging into his back, but he just ran his tongue along the length of my cock in response and sucked harder. "N-no, s-sorry!"

"Oh," said the girl, sounding disappointed, "that's okay—hey, Naruto, is that you in there?" Her voice perked up a little and my eyes widened. Was that… that was too much of a coincidence. It couldn't be. I could practically see Sasuke's scowl growing as he thought the same thing I did.

"No," I lied, glad to have stopped stuttering for at least _one_ word. "I don't know—_ahh!_—who you're t-talking about."

She laughed cutely (good thing she didn't mind that sudden burst in the middle) and just refused to leave from in front of the damn door. "C'mon!" she said. "I know it's you. Why don't you come on out and show me what you have in there?" _God, you have no idea how wrong that sounded, Sakura._ "And give me your fitting room, because I need it." She laughed a little again and jiggled the handle jokingly.

"S-Sakura!" I shouted at her. I Sasuke wasn't happy about that, and he moved his hand up to cover my mouth, I pulled at it but he wouldn't let it budge. "Mmm-_phhhm!_"

"Whatever you say, Naruto!" she said, ignoring my muffled yelling. "I'll just wait for your pretty-boy self to get out." She scoffed at her own joke. "Pretty-boy. Hah! As if." She walked off, calling after Ino.

Sasuke still wouldn't let go of my mouth, though, and my head was starting to spin for another reason besides his mouth around me. In a desperate attempt to get him to let go, I shoved my tongue out and licked his hand—as _if_ he would be deterred by that. He pressed it harder, then pulled it away suddenly. I sucked in a breath and lurched forward as I came into his mouth. Almost too willingly he gulped it all down—not wanting to make a mess in the dressing room? My breathing was damn heavy and I was glad that the music was bursting my eardrums now, even though it sounded more like a distant, old car radio to me at that time—it seemed the loud music was always saving me from embarrassing myself these days. I leaned my forehead on Sasuke's shoulder and he sat there, waiting for me to catch my breath before he nudged me. I lifted my head hazily and leaned back against the wall again. Breathing having steadied, I kicked him lightly in the arm with my toes.

"Give me my underwear, you bastard." He rolled his eyes at me and tossed my boxers at me. I pulled them on with haste and got dressed, picked up the orange shirt. "Whether you like this or not," I told him, "I'm getting it."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets again. "Hn," he grunted in reply, turning to open the door. "Good thing I like it." I smiled a little at him (he actually liked the obnoxious orange?), but he just rolled his eyes at me again as if I were so naïve. He strode out with his head held high, as if he owned the world, and when I peeked out, I was glad to see that Sakura was gone for the time being. God forbid I run into that girl again… I brushed past Sasuke to the register and bought the shirt and we were out of the store, our ears and eyes trying desperately to return back to normal.

* * *

**This was MOSTLY a filler chapter, but if you did read it, yay you! You got a lemonish! xD I know I've been making Naruto out to be a HUGE uke recently, and believe me, I mean to change that. I don't like his whining and complaining, either. frgjkrsgnsrjg. How did I get here.**

** Anyway, I'm getting to a HUGE climax in the next chapter or two, so stay tuned. I'm dying to get this out! O:**

**Pleasant EVERYTHING, everyone. And read on! :D GSHJKGSGEI I'M EXCITED. EXCITED FOR A STORY THAT SUCKS. Looooooooooooool.**

**Oh, and I apologize for the recent inactivity. I've been so wrapped up with exams and moving into a new house. I'm trying to get back on the radar here. (:**


	19. Filthy, Exposed Information

**Doumo! This is a pretty big chapter, plot-wise. I'm getting things tied down, and I have everything set in motion here. The illegal-ninja factor is being put more in play like I meant for it to. New characters are beginning to be introduced, and new information is coming to light. Enjoy~  
(This is also the last chapter I'm currently uploading off the list of FINISHED ones. From here one out I'll have to write faster!)**

* * *

"Seems like everything we knew

Turned out were never even true

Don't trust, things will never change

You must be dreaming."

-**Sum 41**, _Some Say_

* * *

**MONDAY**

The surface of my desk seemed a lot more comfortable that day. I lied my cheek on it and closed my eyes, crossing my arms around my head to block out light. I was damn close to falling into a nice and needed nap when a piece of paper was annoyingly set right on my head. I shifted uncomfortably and let it slide onto the floor, then kicked my leg over to drag it toward me with my foot. I leaned over lazily and picked it up and inspected it.

"Field trip permit?" I questioned aloud.

"Yes, Naruto," said Iruka, already walking away, having finished passing the papers out, only to go to his desk and pick up another pile. "If you'd been listening, you would know that we're going on a field trip."

I stared at the paper quizzically. Really? We never went on field trips. And that seemed like such an elementary school kind of thing, too. "When?" I asked.

Iruka sighed and rolled his eyes, but continued to pass out papers. "Again, if you were listening, you would know that the trip is this Friday."

"_This_ Friday?"

"Just wait. I'm about to explain everything, okay?" He seemed exasperated, as if not wanting to repeat himself (who does?), and finally finished passing papers out. "Okay, everyone, I want you all to take a look at the two papers I just passed out to you." He picked up a copy of one and held it up. "One is the sheet that tells you about the trip, which we'll be taking to a world history museum." A majority of the class groaned in disproval. "Hey now, we're in the middle of this unit, so it should help a lot. I wouldn't be complaining if I were you. It should also give you the address, date, all that important stuff." He set that down and picked up another one. "The other is the field trip permit, which needs to be signed and dated by your parent or guardian, stating that they've given you permission to go on this trip."

I picked up the field trip permit and scanned through it, then eyed the last line that had printed under it, _Parent Signature._ I sighed a little and folded it in half and set it down, knowing that I would only have to sign it myself, or ask Iruka to sign it for me or something, because I had no one to sign it. Iruka stopped talking for a moment and looked back toward me, as if just realizing that he shouldn't have passed it out to me.

"Okay, I know that going this Friday is a really short notice, and if some of you aren't able to go, it makes perfect sense." There was a widespread agreement from the class. "You will miss the whole school day on Friday, though." Suddenly, everyone could go. I was sure they would ask their parents to sign it that day and bring it in the next, just so that they could skip out on classes for a day. "You'll be excused from your classes, and the buses will leave a half hour after class starts and won't get back here until right after school ends, so you're pretty much out the whole day. But that doesn't mean you can use this trip as an excuse just to get out of class! I really want you guys to pay attention while we're there, is that clear?"

The class mumbled a small agreement and Iruka nodded.

Like hell. Everyone was gonna go.

* * *

**FRIDAY**

"We're gonna miss the bus, you idiot! Get off!" I complained. I pushed against Sasuke, but he wouldn't budge. There was a certain part of _get off_ that he didn't understand, but I wasn't sure which part it was. Probably the _off _part. Maybe he as thinking _get it on_ instead.

He only grinned at my response. "So? We're excused from class all day, and this classroom will be empty…"

"I don't care!" I told him. "Get _off_!" I pushed against him again, but he still wouldn't move. How the hell was this bastard stronger than me? No matter how many times I tried to get him away, he only pressed me on top of Iruka's desk harder. Never mind the fact that I could hear the buses outside already loading, or the fact that I could hear voices right outside Iruka's door, but we were on top of his damn desk, scattering his papers everywhere wildly.

"Think of how many places we can do it."

"Are you nuts! I'm not gonna do that in the classroom!"

"What do you mean? You almost did before… That one time."

I turned my head to the side so I didn't have to look at him (because _god_ he was so right), but he took it as an opening and attacked my neck with his mouth. I held back embarrassing noises. "Get off!" I demanded.

He smirked and kissed my neck one last time. "Alright, dobe. Let's go." He started to back up, but I shoved him a little and walked past him in a huff.

"Asshole," I mumbled. We ran to the buses and barely made it as they were loading the second one. They had been loading in alphabetical order by last name, and, of course, ours were right next to each other, so we got a seat toward the back next to each other anyway. It wasn't like I wanted to object, but I wondered just what plans he had in mind knowing that we were the last ones seated and in the very back.

* * *

Luckily, the only things Sasuke had planned were—well, let's see—practically ravaging me silently, probably in hopes that I would make a lot of noise and people would turn around. I say _luckily_ because I swear, he could have done a lot more. A _lot_ more.

We finally arrived at the museum a few towns over—after driving through a huge desert that I didn't even know existed and taking a rest stop at a fast food place. Some people bought breakfast, complaining that they hadn't had a bite to eat yet that day. I settled for napping in the bus, but being rudely awoken by Sasuke crawling on top of me and kissing me without end.

The museum was pretty damn huge, and I finally understood why we had to take the whole day to do this trip. It would take us _forever_ to navigate every damn room and study every exhibit they had.

Our guide was a nice-looking man who seemed to have way too much energy in him this early in the morning. When he excitedly greeted us with a loud, "Good morning, youth!" and a huge thumbs up, I immediately decided that he was probably going to bother me at one point or another. Everyone else was indifferent to his dramatics, but Lee seemed to take a liking to him. I noticed that they had matching haircuts.

And shoes.

Other than that, the trip was going well. After a long and detailed (and mostly unnecessary) explanation and description of the museum by the guide, Gai (Gai the Guide. I almost died), told us that we could split off in our groups decided by our instructor.

"Go look wherever you want, but meet up back here at noon!" Iruka told us. "Noon!" he repeated as we all separated.

Naturally, I had the instinct to stick around Sasuke, just because I wanted to. But just as naturally, the whole group came along as well, making it damn near impossible to be within ten feet of him. Sakura narrowed her eyes at me questionably every time I shied away from him, as if scolding me. She bumped into me when we were standing by something about World War Two and nudged me again with her hip when I didn't say anything.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked her jokingly, a smile spreading across my face.

She couldn't help but smile back. "No," she said, "but you can help yourself and stop avoiding Sasuke."

I rolled my eyes but kept walking on, a little ways away from the group so no one overheard. "You make it sound so horrible."

"Well.."

"Hm?"

"Not everyone is going to be so judgmental like you think they are, Naruto," she said, practically reading my mind, turning to face me. She stopped near a column and I continued over to lean on it, shoving my hands in my pockets. I just shrugged and looked away. She really had no idea, did she? I mean, compared to her reaction, they might be considered a bit tame, but did she know what she was talking about here? "Really, they won't—will you look at me?" I tore my eyes away from an incredibly uninteresting exhibit of the Axis Powers and looked over to her. She seemed terribly distressed, even worried. About me? I wouldn't think so, but the expression on her face and the way she talked said otherwise.

"Look, you don't need to worry about me—"

"Who said I was worrying about you?" she said, a small smile growing on her face as she put her hands on her hips. She giggled a little when she said, "I'm worried about Sasuke, too, you know."

"You said 'too.' You're worried about me, too." I chuckled a little at that.

"Well, yeah, you know... You're both my friends, and yes, just friends…" I scratched the back of my head nervously when she said that, but let her continue on. "And knowing how close you are, I mean, it's a little awkward, and I still haven't gotten used to it yet, yeah I'll admit it, but… I don't like seeing you guys purposefully ignore each other when everyone else is around. You don't _need_ to, because they don't care."

It was hard to believe her words. I just couldn't. Not when an image of everyone inching away from me and Sasuke came into mind. An image of Kiba just sticking his tongue out every time I said hi to him, of Shikamaru ignoring me, of Hinata's face no longer blushing like it used to when I was near her.

"Sakura, I don't think that—"

"You don't think what, Naruto?" she asked, a serious look on her face. "You don't think that everyone is your friend? Don't think that they don't care who you like, as long as you're the same guy they befriended?"

Damn, she had a point.

"Look… What I'm saying is… They're your friends. They're Sasuke's friends, too. They're not gonna suddenly hate you because you guys like each other. So just… get with it." And with a small smile and another bump to my hip, she walked off to rejoin the group. Ino glanced back toward me and winked, telling me that she was in on it, too. I just chuckled and rejoined everyone, too.

I was sure I looked pretty composed, and strangely enough, for the time being, I wasn't being loud and obnoxious, but shit, I was freaking the hell out. I decided to take Sakura's advice, but how? How would I go about it? It wasn't like I could tackle him to the marble floors of the museum (as much as I wanted to…) in front of everyone. I'd probably even be kicked out if I did, and then I'd have to deal with Iruka… and then Tsunade… and possibly the creepy Kakashi… And not to mention how awkward it would be.

So how would I do this…?

I slowly inched my way toward him as we walked on through exhibits. Kiba was thoroughly entertained by the tank section of the war exhibit and had the need to tell everyone about it.

"This is so fucking cool!" he exclaimed loudly, disturbing an elderly couple that happened to be nearby. They gave him a dirty look and walked on, but he never noticed. "I wish I could just blow shit up like this! Oh, that would be so cool, huh, Shino!" Shino simply nodded in reply, surely thinking that any explanation about tanks would only get a stupid reply from Kiba. "Pow! Pow! Fucking die!" I stared at him curiously, sure that my eye was twitching or something.

"What are you, five?" Ino asked him.

"Plus eleven," he said, crossing his arms. She rolled her eyes at him.

"So you can add," she said, turning around and walking away.

Great! They were distracted. More or less. It was kind of my chance to get something going…

Slowly and steadily, I made my way toward Sasuke. Shit, this was intense. I shouldn't have been freaking out so bad about something so tiny, though. I took a single breath and told myself, _Man up, bitch!_ And in the time it took me to get there, managed to do so.

Even though by the time it took me to get there, we were already nearing the food court. I quickened my pace and went to stand next to Sasuke as everyone was deciding on what to eat. I nudged myself closer to him and in a move of pure bravery, took his hand in mine.

Wouldn't you know it? Everyone went silent.

Dead silent.

"What?" I said after awhile.

Sasuke didn't seem fazed by it at all, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. He just continued on talking.

"Anyway, I'm gonna go get some of that pizza over there… Sakura, you said you didn't bring money, right? I'll buy you lunch."

"Oh, no, it's okay!" she said, suddenly changing her mind. She looked over to me and smiled, then back at Sasuke. She latched onto one of Ino's arms. "I'm sure Ino wouldn't mind buying me lunch, you know. She kind of owes me."

Ino turned to look at her, puzzled. "Owe you? For what?"

Sakura's expression fell and she narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Oh, you know what you owe me for, biatch. Don't make me say it out loud."

Ino's eyes widened. "The food court's yours." And with that, the two whisked around quickly and walked away, their strangely quiet squabbling obvious to everyone even after they left.

Everyone turned back to look at me and Sasuke again.

Shikamaru was the first to speak. "I think I'll get Chinese food. It sounds good." He leaned to look past us at the said Chinese place. "Better get in line now, I think it's just getting longer." He walked past us and said, "God, I hate waiting in lines."

"Shino and I are gonna go get some burgers over there," said Kiba, jerking his thumb toward the place. He gave me one last curious look, but smiled widely as he left, hands clasped tightly on one of Shino's arms. Hinata trailed behind them awkwardly, giving me a small smile and nod as she left. Of course, Neji followed after her. He didn't have much of a reaction, almost as if he'd predicted it. Tenten grabbed Lee's arm and practically dragged him over to some Quick Cantina place. To no one's surprise, Chouji wandered off to the barbeque place.

"Well?" said Sasuke, startling me. I'd almost forgotten that he was next to me, and that our hands were together. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Oh yeah!" I said, and started walking, but he tugged on my hand, pulling me back toward him. "What?"

"Pizza's that way," he said, nodding in its direction.

"Oh. Yeah I knew that!"

He barely chuckled at me and lead the way over there, never letting go of my hand until he actually had to use both of them.

* * *

The seemingly boring trip had gone by a lot faster than I'd expected to, and that everyone else had expected it to, I'm sure. Everyone was begging to stay a bit longer, to Iruka's surprise, but he said that the buses were on schedule and there was nothing he could do about it. So we all unhappily shuffled back to the buses and boarded accordingly, getting in one last stretch before the hour-long ride back to the school.

The ride back was a lot more relaxing than the ride there, because Sasuke insisted on napping in the overly-comfortable individual bus seat. He even put his arm rest down between us to prove that he meant it (which meant nothing to me. I didn't see how a puny little armrest would stop him from doing anything. If anything, he would crawl over it and attack me that way). He drifted off to sleep pretty quickly, and I snuck peeks occasionally to look at his sleeping face.

He looked so reserved, so calm. As opposed to his usual, near scowling face, it was a huge change. Even after all of the times that he'd slept over at my house, I'd never once stopped to see what he looked like—usually because I fell asleep first and woke up last, but… damn. If I'd known it was this good, I would have stayed up just to see it. It was a dramatic difference next to his "I-hate-the-world-and-the-world-hates-me" attitude. I only wished that he would look that innocent all the time.

I brushed a lock of raven black hair out of his eyes and he shifted in his seat. I thought he was going to wake up for a moment, but when he clicked his lips together in that way sleeping babies and children do, I knew he was asleep. It was almost entertaining to watch him, actually.

I couldn't help it—I leaned over and planted a light kiss on his cheek. It didn't wake him, and I was kind of glad for it. He would either have scowled at me for disturbing him or taken advantage of the situation and taken advantage of me. At which point I would probably refuse and end up causing a scene.

And he would like that.

I leaned back in my seat and pushed it backward to make it more comfortable. I was lucky that no one had been seated behind me. If there was, they would be complaining that my chair was hitting their knees. And I would tell them to live with it.

I closed my eyes and attempted to rest. The steady rhythm of the highway was kind of soothing, I guess you could say. If I opened my eyes for even a moment and looked out the window, all I saw was an endless desert anyway (you know, that one that I somehow had not been informed of its existence in all my years of just living miles away from it). I blocked everything out; the chatter of the other people in the bus; the low but still audible volume of the radio playing; the occasional bump we'd hit on the highway. Eventually, I was right on the edge between being awake and asleep.

God forbid I be allowed to it, though.

All of the windows of the bus smashed inward. Yes, I mean all of them. The glass shattered in toward everyone that was sitting there, and a lot of screams could be heard piercing the air. The driver lost control of the bus for a moment and it swerved about the highway recklessly. He finally got control though, and pulled over to the side of the road, as confused as everyone else was. The bus ahead of us—stupidly—kept on driving, not even bothering to pull over to help. He did eventually, though—a mile or two ahead.

The bus driver stood up and tried as best as he could to calm everyone, but how you calm a bus full of truly freaked out teenagers was beyond me.

Sasuke had woken up, of course, and was rubbing his head, looking extremely annoyed. He picked a piece of glass out of his hair and let it fall to the ground. He looked over to me for an explanation, but I just shrugged. What the hell was I supposed to say? He knew as much as I did. The windows were all broken suddenly.

"Everyone calm down! Do not panic!" called out the bus driver. "Everything is under control! The windows probably broke because of the heat! Everything will be fine in no time!"

Everyone got louder in disagreement. Like hell everything was going to be fine, we all thought. Our lives were suddenly put in total danger! The guy was lucky that no one was injured by the glass, or he would be getting sued a lot real quick, I'm sure.

I shook my head and bits of glass rained down out of my hair. I looked at it curiously, wondering how they didn't stab me or anything. It had been broken into pebble-shaped pieces. Totally blunt, no sharp points at all. All of it. I just thought that it was the type of glass that was used in the windows.

"Everyone, please! Settle down!"

Fat chance.

I stood up, along with many of the other students, to file off the bus as we were instructed to. I stood behind Sasuke, waiting to get off, but—

Something flew into one of the windows and tackled me sideways out the opposite window. We tumbled onto the ground and rolled in the dirt, and they managed to stand up and pick me up with them. They hoisted me into their shoulder and started to run pretty damn fast, faster than any normal person would be able to run. Faster than I could run.

They should have thought to restrain me. I brought one of my hands up high and landed a forceful blow to their shoulder, and they dropped me right to the ground and stopped a few yards away from me. I stood up, now covered in orange-tinted dirt, and looked over to them.

There stood a man in a long, black, cloak-like jacket, a white button-up dress shirt underneath, poised as if ready to fight me. I'm not sure how I knew it was a guy—maybe just by the way he was standing or his board-flat chest or something—because he had long, flowing blonde hair, some of it pushed up into a super high ponytail. A section of it fell over half of his face, and he stared at me with a huge grin plastered on.

"Your friends are all lucky they got off that bus, yeah!" he yelled at me, still grinning. I instantly turned back to look at the bus. "Cause things are about to get real artsy around here."

Right after he said that, the entire bus erupted in a huge explosion. Bits and pieces of metal flew everywhere wildly, violently slashing through the air. The remains were engulfed in flames, the orange and yellow fire swallowing it whole and nearly extending to everyone, who'd all fallen to the ground to protect themselves from the explosion. What was left was only twisted, unrecognizable metal. Everything else was burning to a crisp or had been blown away.

I turned back to look at the man, who was still standing there, now basking in his glory. He threw his hands up in the air. "Now that's what I call a bang!" he said, smiling widely. "That was awesome, yeah!"

"Who the hell are you!" I shouted at him angrily. He just kept his grin wide on his face and ran a hand through his hair, pushing some of it out of his face. He revealed that his left eye wasn't even an eye—in fact, it looked more like… some kind of gadget that I couldn't quite see.

"Hm, names aren't too important, now are they, _Uzumaki Naruto?"_ He laughed a little and started to walk toward me. I walked backwards to get away from him, but he just walked faster and shot his hand out to grad a fistful of my hair. I automatically punched at his arm, but he bent his elbow with my punch and with his other hand grabbed both of mine. _Fuck! Can I really be constricted this easily?_ "Look, kid," he said, something dark behind his voice. "I don't know what the hell is so special about you, but I've been ordered to come and take you, yeah. So don't struggle," he pulled on my hair, "and don't fight," he pulled me closer to him, "and don't say a god damn word." He leaned in right by my ear. "And things will be just peachy, okay?" He released his grip on me and shoved me forward. I stumbled back a bit, but didn't let myself fall into the desert sands.

He stretched his arms up above his head and stretched his back. "Why did they put me on this job, yeah?" he wondered aloud. He sighed heavily and shook his head. "Alright, let's get a move on."

I took a few steps back. He had to be off his damn rocker if he thought I was just going to willingly go with him. All I had to do was get a few good hits on him without getting myself grabbed like that again.

He rolled his eyes at me. "You think I don't know what you're thinking?" He chuckled a little. "I'm not an idiot, yeah. All I have to do is grab you and we're out of here." He started walking toward me quickly. "So don't think that—"

I dove forward and pushed myself into his legs, sending both of us tumbling into the sand. He fell and rolled over me, scrambling to get up. I crawled over to him and sat on his chest, putting both of my feet on top of his wrists so he couldn't grab me. He writhed and squirmed beneath me, legs kicking and trying to knee me in the back. I crossed my arms and looked down at him.

"Who the hell_ are_ you!" I asked him again.

He gave me the dirtiest look known to mankind. "None of your business!"

I rolled my eyes. "Who sent you to take me!"

He just laughed loudly at me, closing his eyes, then looked back up at me. "Bite me!"

As he started to laugh more, I shot my hand out and took a handful of his hair. I tugged on it harshly, wrapping it around my fingers. He cried out in pain.

"Not my hair! Not my haaaaiiir!" he pleaded. "Ow! That shit hurts, yeah! Quit pulling!" Just to piss him off, I pulled it another time.

"Who sent you!"

"I'm not telling— aggh!" He cried out as I pulled on his hair more.

"Who!" I questioned again.

He just kind of growled at me and spat right at me. It landed on my neck, and it was disgusting. I wiped it away and wiped it on his shirt.

"I'm not telling you shit, yeah," he said finally. And he seemed like he meant it, too. He wasn't going to tell me anything.

I let go of his hair, and right as he was sighing in relief, I pulled my hand back and punched him in his jaw.

"What the fuck was that for!"

"Fun," I said plainly, "Now tell me."

"I already said, I'm not telling you—" but his words were cut off when I delivered another blow to his cheek. "Oww! Stop that!" He turned his head to the side and spit out a nasty glob of blood that sat on top of the sand.

"Why would I?" I said rhetorically. "You tried to fucking kidnap me!"

He looked back toward me. "Just cause I was ordered to, yeah!"

"By who!"

"I'm not telling—" Another punch, to his other cheek. "Shit! Stop! It was either you or Sasuke, and you just looked easier!"

What the fuck? Me or Sasuke? Who the hell could have been behind something like this…?

I punched him in his temple suddenly. "Oww! Fuck! Okay, okay!" He turned his head to the side again. For a moment, he didn't say anything, but I just waited. He was going to, I could tell. The look on his face said everything. "You know your little friend Sasuke, yeah?" I simply nodded. "It was his older brother, Itachi."

_Brother…?_

Sasuke had a _brother?_

I didn't say anything, just stared at the guy in the sand, waiting for him to say more, but he never did.

"Why?" was all I could think of saying.

"I don't fucking know! He just told me to come get one of you! Either of you! I didn't even know he had a brother myself, yeah!" He squirmed once more beneath me. "Now get the hell off of me!"

I let him try to get me off of him a few more times until he stopped, then finally jumped off of him and took a few steps back. He stood up and brushed all of the dirt off of the front of him, looking more irritated at the dirt than the fact that he was still spitting up blood. He attempted to fix his hair a bit, but it was kind of a raggedy mess after I'd pulled on it so much.

"Go back to Itachi," I said to him, the name sounding odd coming out of my mouth, "and tell him that if he wants either of us, to come himself!"

The man just laughed and shook his head at me. "Good luck next time, brat," he said, "because next time, the guy won't be so easy to deal with, yeah!"

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

I stumbled back over to the bus ruins, still on fire, to some sitting and some standing on the side of the road, still waiting for the other bus to show up, for some reason. It shouldn't have taken that long, but it was. Everyone eyed me curiously as I strode up to them, probably looking like hell, but it wasn't like they were peachy, either. They were all sitting in the desert heat, sweaty, and covered with what looked like soot or something from the explosion. They had all been far enough to where it wouldn't hurt them, but I still wasn't sure.

I went and joined the group, all sitting or standing near each other. The first person I went to, though, was Sakura. She was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, eyes wide and staring straight ahead. Hinata and Ino were sitting on either sides of her, no doubt already having tried to comfort her, and it obviously didn't work. I kneeled in front of her and put my hands on her shoulders.

"Sakura, are you… alright?" the question was stupid and everyone knew the answer, but I asked anyway.

Right after she'd registered that I was there, she shot forward and pulled me into a tight embrace. Despite everyone around being sweaty to shit, she still smelled like bright, blooming flowers, and in a way, it was comforting. She pulled me tighter against her and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Where did you go?" she asked, voice erratic. "Everyone was here and accounted for but you!" She let go of me and pulled back. "I thought you were still in there." She pointed shakily to the burning bus.

"I'm fine," I lied, "I just freaked out and ran farther than you guys did." I gave her a tiny smile, and she almost bought it. She just nodded once, and looked back down at the road, dismissing me.

I sighed and stood up, walked over to Sasuke, who was obviously waiting for me to finish with Sakura. I tried to give him the same smile, but he frowned at me, nearly glaring. His expression turned into something dark, but full of something that looked like worry.

"Sasuke," I said plainly, "do you—" but I cut off my words abruptly when I realized what I was going to say. _Do you have a brother?_ But I couldn't just ask him that flat out. And not in front of everyone.

There was a reason he'd never talked about him, a reason why he was out to get us now, and I wasn't about to bring that up in the middle of a desert while we waited for a damn bus to pick us up.

"Hm?" he said, wondering what I was about to say. He looked at me questionably, an eyebrow raised.

I fished through my mind for something to say. "Are you okay?"

He gave me a look that told me he knew that wasn't what I was saying at first, but gave a single nod anyway. I just nodded in response a few times, and sat down on the side of the road. After awhile, he sat next to me, too, and we all waited until the next bus got there.

* * *

**MONDAY**

"Ten paragraphs, at least five sentences per paragraph, the regular format. Alright everyone?" Iruka finished passing out some papers on a guideline on an essay we had to write and clapped his hands. "Due Friday." Everyone groaned at the fact that he was giving us a paper to write on the field trip. Most of ours would include the incident with the bus, though his rubric said what we learned at the museum.

_C-4 is highly explosive_ would be a point in everyone's essays, that was damn sure.

Iruka's teacher-phone began to ring, and he eyed me, as he always did, sure that it was a call about me, calling me to the office, anything. He answered it and nodded a few times, the usual _uh-huh_, and _yep._ He put it back on the receiver and sure enough, looked over to me.

"Naruto, you're wanted in Principal Tsunade's office."

I sighed heavily. "All the time," I mumbled to myself. "Never a week without it, she always wants to talk to me…" I gathered up my things and slung my backpack on my shoulder, then continued out the door of homeroom to go meet up with the principal.

* * *

She was looking more distressed than usual. Her fingers were laced, elbows propped up on the desk, and she was leaning forward in her chair. Her eyes were closed when I entered the room, and when the door opened, she seemed startled. Nevertheless, I sat in my usual chair and leaned back to get comfortable.

"Yeah, Granny?" I said, just waiting for the string of complaints about me calling her that. But they never came. She sat silent, almost solemnly, never saying anything for the longest time. I waited and waited.

She finally opened her eyes and put her hands flat on her desk.

"Naruto," she said finally, "I want you to tell me what happened on that trip on Friday."

I let out a huge breath. Is that really what she called me there for? I crossed my arms across my chest and leaned back further in the seat to stare up at the ceiling. "Let's see," I started. "I learned some stuff about the world wars, a little about Pocahontas, some stuff about the Chinese Dynasties…"

"You know that's not what I'm asking."

"Really? Then what do you want to know?" I asked her. There couldn't have been any way that she knew about the guy, about what he wanted, that I almost got kidnapped. Of course she didn't know—and that's why she wanted to know.

"The bus ride home," she stated simply. "When they called for attendance, you weren't there. But later you walked up looking like you'd just been playing in the sand."

"Maybe I was just playing in the sand."

"This is not a joke!" she yelled. "Take this seriously!" The look in her eyes changed to something angry, and I almost flinched back. "Tell me everything that happened from the point when you boarded the bus, to when you walked back to the group. And tell me _everything, _because what you don't tell me, I _will_ find out." And I believed it.

I sat silent for a few moments, but finally said, "The windows blew in first."

"How?"

"I don't know, they just did." She nodded for me to continue. "And we pulled over, and as we were getting off, someone jumped in one of the windows and tackled me out of another one. He just grabbed me and ran off into the desert, and got pretty far away from everyone else."

"Who was it?"

I shrugged. "Some blonde pretty boy in a white shirt and black coat, I don't know."

Her eyes flickered with something I couldn't make out, but she nodded again.

"I hit him and he dropped me, and then he said some weird shit about the bus, and it just blew up."

"So you think he did that to the bus?"

"Yeah. And he tried to fight me, but I kept him off—I guess all of those years fighting with Sasuke really did pay off, huh?" I gave her a grin, but she scowled at me, and it was instantly lost. "Er… anyway. And, uh… He said someone sent him to kidnap me, but…" I stopped for a moment.

He'd said that it was Sasuke's older brother, Itachi. Someone that I'd never heard about a day in my life, that Sasuke had never mentioned once, and he was out to get the both of us—a force not to reckon with.

Did I really want to bring Sasuke into this? He seemed to not know anything, and I figured it would be better that way, so…

"I have no idea who sent him, though," I told her, "but he just wanted to come get me."

"Do you have any idea _why?"_ she asked.

I shook my head. "Haven't a clue."

"Not a single one?"

"Nope."

She shook her head, as if extremely disappointed in me. As if on cue, she said, "I'm disappointed in you Naruto."

"What?" I said confusedly.

"I said that I'm disappointed in you." She shook her head again. "Tell me how you managed to fight him off."

"I told you, those fights were pretty much practice—"

"Tell me the truth."

"All those years of scuffling were—"

"Naruto, I _know_ you're lying to me!" she yelled suddenly. "Now tell me the truth, or so help me—"

I stood up and slammed my hands on the surface of her desk, rattling objects sitting atop it. "I'm a ninja, okay!" I shouted at her angrily. My breaths were large huffs now, and it was getting more and more difficult to control them.

She clasped her fingers together the way she always did again and dipped her head forward, closing her eyes. Her eyebrows were furrowed, as if she were disturbed by the very thought of it. It was silent for awhile, and I finally sat down again, on the edge of my seat, back straight as a board.

"It is as I thought," she said to herself quietly. I waited for her to say more, but she didn't.

She leaned down and reached into a file drawer in her desk, pulled out a few stacks of papers. She straightened them out, held onto them for a moment, and set them down. As if contemplating her actions, she slid them toward me slowly. I looked down at the stack wonderingly.

"Read them," she told me.

I did as she said, picking them up and flipping through them almost carelessly, but reading the titles of each page absently. _Chuunin Exam Files; Ninjutsu Field Test; Taijutsu Assurance Test; _and things of the like. I narrowed my eyes at them, wondering what the hell they were referring to. Finally, I read through a couple of them, reading the names typed on each. _Umino Iruka, Hatake Kakashi, _and even teachers that I didn't know very well, like _Sarutobi Asuma._ Eventually, I got to one that had Granny's name typed on it.

"What are these…?" I asked, looking back up at her. I set the papers down in front of me.

"Records of every single employee at this school, and all of their training," she stated. "Each is individually skilled on their own. This training is required here to work at this school. And furthermore…" she set her hand down on the stack and pulled them toward her, "confidentiality is key."

But what…" I wasn't quite understanding what she was trying to tell me.

"In other words, Naruto, every employee here at this school is a ninja."

I stared at her, expressionless, mouth probably agape, more silent than I'd ever been, I'm sure.

"What?" I said stupidly. It was all there was _to_ say in response to something like that.

"This school is the center of the ninja world. To extend on that, Suna is also a part of this. It's not rare to find that some teachers may often take students as apprentices, but…" She looked up at me with a dead-serious look in her eyes. "This is the first time we've seen a student become a ninja on his own account."

"So you—"

"Yes, Naruto. We know about you. We've _known _about you for quite awhile."

I turned my head to the side for a moment, almost in embarrassment of being found out without knowing. And I called myself a ninja… I turned back to face her.

"What does this mean?"

"At the moment, we don't know. Someone is obviously targeting you, but we don't have any idea as to why. We've been working on it, but there's no saying yet."

"Targeting? Granny, I'm not—"

"Not what?" she asked. "Tell me."

I was going to say, _I'm not the only one being targeted, _but I reminded myself that it was the best thing to keep Sasuke as much out of this as he could be. The last thing I wanted was for him to try to take action against it.

"Is there anyone else here that you know about?" I asked her curiously, referring to the students.

"In fact, there are. A lot." She shook her head. "But now is not the best time to be discussing that."

"Why not?" I asked. "I think I have the right to know!"

"You are a wanted criminal," she explained. "You hardly have the right to be sitting here right now. Now before you go mouthing about your rights, you better understand them more. And like I said, confidentiality is key. I can't be going around outing everyone I know about to students. Now be quiet and let me finish!" She interlaced her fingers again and leaned her head toward them. "You're being entrusted with the safety of this school, Naruto," she said. "I hope you know that." I fought back the urge to say _I do now_, and let her continue. "If this school is found out, the city will go to ruins. As will Suna." She looked back toward me. "Now, I need you to tell me everything you know about the attacker and who ordered him to do it."

I thought back on the event, on his words that he's said, _next time, the guy won't be so easy to deal with!_ And I knew that they were going to attack again. When, where, I had no idea. I knew that I should probably tell Tsunade that, but then she would just put up a bunch of people to protect me, and that wasn't what I wanted. I could protect myself, and if that guy was that easy to get rid of, the next one should be a piece of cake.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade," I said to her, "but there's nothing to tell. It was probably a random attack."

She sighed heavily, as if she were fighting a lost cause. And with the decision I'd made, she pretty much was. She slid the papers aside on her desk and turned her chair to face away from me.

"You can go now, Naruto," she said.

* * *

**FESKJHFUESHC. I'm glad I got this all out. AND SO THE BIG PICTURE IS REVEALED—kinda. xD For a small detail, Naruto made it known that he and Sasuke are together (but everyone could already tell, hahaha). Itachi is finally **_**brought up**_** in the story (FINALLY, I had like 4 other chapters I wanted to bring him in, but I waited)… I'm starting to bring the Akatsuki in, too. Woop woop. As you can tell, haha. Deidara's appearance was quite a bang. Teehee. I'm punny.**

**I'm sure I've already mentioned this, but according to the poll results I got regarding this story, there won't be a rape OR a death of anyone close to Naruto. IF YOU SERIOUSLY WANT THAT, speak now or forever read the peace.**

**Let me know what you think! Pleasant days, everyone.**


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